Learning To Breathe
by doodleswriter357
Summary: "It is by chance that we met, by choice that we became friends." A series of one-shots revolving around the friendship between Artie Abrams and Kurt Hummel. Sequel to "Take It All Away."
1. Prologue

**AN: This is a continuation of sorts from my other story 'Take It All Away' which you may want to read first so you understand what is going on here. This story is going to be a collection of one-shots based on the friendship between Artie and Kurt.  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. **

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"_One measure of friendship consists not in the number of things friends can discuss, _

_but in the number of things they need no longer mention." - _ Clifton Fadiman

_Abrams Household – Lima, Ohio – September 15, 2010_

After Artie had uploaded the pictures to Facebook and took the next ten minutes wading through the comments and 'likes' that came along with them, he turned his laptop off and headed into the kitchen for a quick snack before bed. His mother was standing by the counter, talking to her sister on the phone while simultaneously putting the dishes from dinner away. Artie rolled over to the pantry, grabbed a Pop-Tart out and stuck it in the toaster. He was pulling the gallon of milk out of the fridge when his mother hung up the phone and turned to talk to him.

"Are you sure you want to eat right before bed?" she asked him as he backed out from the fridge to close the door. "The sugar might keep you up."

"I'll be fine Mom," Artie replied slightly exasperatedly. His mother was always keeping a close eye on him; he knew she cared but at times it got just a little overbearing. He headed over to get his Pop-Tart out of the toaster when he heard the telltale popping noise that let him know it was done.

"So did anything interesting happen at school today?" his mother asked as she sat down at the table across from him, a glass of her own milk in hand.

"Not really," Artie said as he thought back over his day and his various classes. Then he realized that he hadn't mentioned the pictures to her yet.

"Well actually," he began, pausing to take a bite of his snack. "Yesterday I found a box of pictures in the living room. From the accident," he elaborated as she looked confused. His mother's face tightened slightly at the mention of the accident. She didn't like to talk about it much; he knew she still felt guilty about it even though he didn't blame her in the slightest.

"Oh I'm sorry," she said quickly. "I knew that seeing them would upset you, so I kept them hidden –"

"No, it's okay," he interrupted his mother. "It didn't really bother me. Actually, I found out something kind of interesting from them." At his mother's inquiring glance, he continued his explanation. "Do you remember me hanging out with another kid at the hospital?" His mother thought for a moment, then nodded slowly.

"Oh yes I do remember that now," she replied. "I took a couple of pictures of you two, didn't I?"

"Yup," Artie replied cheerfully. "You know my friend Kurt, right?" His mother scrunched her face up in concentration.

"He's the one with the nice clothes, isn't he?"

"Yep, and he's the kid that I met at the hospital," Artie finished with a grin on his face. His mother blinked at him in confusion, but then realization dawned on her face.

"Are you serious?" she asked him, setting her cup down on the table. Artie nodded, grinning broadly. "Well that's…..quite awesome really," she finished smiling back at him. "What are the chances that you would meet him again after all these years?"

"That's what I said," Artie replied. "It's my very own Hallmark moment!" His mother shook her head, smiling slightly at him.

"So now what?" she inquired.

"Now?" Artie repeated confusedly. "Now…we're still friends I guess. But we have a weird connection. And I can make fun of him for the rabbit thing." She chuckled at that, shaking her head at the memory.

"I still can't believe he managed to do that," she said. "I would have never in a million years, expected to walk into your room and see you holding a rabbit of all things." They both shared a laugh at that as Artie finished up his Pop-Tart and bid his mother goodnight as he headed back to his bedroom.

_McKinley High School – Lima, Ohio – September 16, 2010_

The next day at school, Artie was the first one at their table for lunch. He had brought his own lunch whereas Mercedes was going through the line for hers, and Kurt had to double back to get a book from his locker. He had gotten all his food spread out and was starting in on his sandwich when Kurt sat down with an exasperated sigh next to him.

"What's up?" Artie asked him through a mouthful of sandwich. Kurt wrinkled his nose at the other boy's lack of table manners but responded with,

"Just the Neanderthals being themselves again. Nothing new."

"No slushy though huh?" Artie noted, glancing at Kurt's pristine clothing.

"Not yet anyways," Kurt replied, pulling his own lunch out.

"So I told my mom about you yesterday," Artie said. "The hospital thing," he elaborated at Kurt's confused expression.

"What did she say?" Kurt asked munching on a carrot stick.

"Just that it was pretty cool that we managed to meet up after all these years," Artie replied. "Did you talk to your dad at all?" Kurt rolled his eyes at that.

"Yessss," he answered, drawing the word out. "My dad… I just don't get him sometimes.

"Why, what did he say?" Artie asked, laughing slightly at the look on Kurt's face.

"Well," Kurt began. "I mentioned something to him about being at the hospital. Then I asked him if he remembered me hanging out with another kid there. And you know what he said?" Artie raised his eyebrows, encouraging Kurt to go on.

"He's like 'Oh yeah, that's your friend Artie, right?'" Kurt paused to take a sip of milk. "I asked him if I had already told him, and he said no. Then he said that he knew it was you since he met you. And he thought that I had known as well."

"So what you're saying is…" Artie prompted him, a grin spreading across his face.

"What I'm saying is," Kurt heaved a deep sigh. "He's known for the better part of a year, and he's never said anything about it." At this, Artie cracked up laughing.

"He's known all along?"

"Yes!" Kurt cried out in exasperation. "And he's never once said anything about it to me! He just assumed that I knew it was you, and didn't bother mentioning it."

"You'd think you would have said something about it," Artie chuckled, calming down slightly.

"That's what I said," Kurt grumbled. "I just can't believe him."

"Dude, your dad is awesome," Artie replied grinning.

"Don't call me dude," Kurt reprimanded him as Mercedes plopped her lunch tray down next to him.

"What's so funny?" she asked, looking from Kurt to Artie.

"His dad is amazing," Artie replied, pointing at Kurt.

"Yeah I know that," she answered. "But how so this time?" Kurt waved his hand at Artie to retell the story, clearly intent on not wanting to talk about it anymore.

* * *

_I know it was pretty short, but this is just an introductory chapter. If there's a situation or prompt that you want me to do with these two, let me know. This upcoming episode is going to give me some seriously good stuff to work with though, so that's exciting. Feedback is welcome as always!_


	2. Detention and Football

**AN: Spoilers for season 2.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

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_McKinley High School – Lima, Ohio _

"Geeze let loose a little would you? Stop being so friggen uptight all the time!"

A shocked, hushed silence overtook the choir room after Kurt's sudden pronouncement. Everyone threw careful, sideways glances at one another as Kurt strode out of the room followed by Mr. Schuester. As soon as they were out of earshot, everyone started talking furiously about what had just happened. The bell rang before either Mr. Schue had come back, so everyone decided to just head out. Mercedes grabbed Artie before he could leave though.

"Could you find Kurt please and talk to him? I want to but I have to get home right away to babysit my little brother." Artie nodded and agreed to go and find the other boy. He ended up hanging around outside the principal's office, trying to look casual while not at all conspicuously trying to hear what was being said inside. Kurt was seated in front of Figgen's desk, slouched in the chair in a rather un-Kurt like fashion, while Mr. Schuester stood behind him, arms crossed.

Another five minutes or so passed before Kurt stood up, grabbed his bag and strode out of the office, not even making eye contact with Mr. Schuester when he passed by him. Artie waited until Kurt was closer to him before calling out,

"Hey wait up." Kurt turned on his heel to see who had been calling him. He dropped the annoyed look off his face when he saw who it was.

"Thought you were Mr. Schuester," he stated, waiting for Artie to catch up to him.

"Nope, sorry," Artie replied looking up at him. "So… that was unexpected. Kurt gave a huff of exasperation as he headed down the hallway, Artie wheeling next to him.

"I know that wasn't the best way to react, but it was just so frustrating! We are Glee club, so we should choose what we want to perform. We weren't going to go out there are sing something completely inappropriate, like 'Crazy Rap' or something–"

"No but how epic would that have been?" Artie interjected grinning at the thought. Kurt chuckled slightly, and then continued.

"I mean, for the first time – probably ever – we all agreed on something. But, nooo. We have to do "adult contemporary" music, which none of us even care about."

"Come on, Michael Bolton is my jam," Artie said cheekily.

"'Weird Al' Yankovic is your jam Artie," Kurt shot back. Artie had to nod in agreement with that. "But seriously, no high schooler is going to want to listen to that. We are already branded as losers, just because we are in the club. We have to suffer through all the slushees and bullying and name-calling; we should get to choose what we perform. If it's something that's going to make it worse, why would we want to do it?"

"No, I agree with you," Artie replied, nodding thoughtfully. "The only time we ever got an ounce of respect from the student body was after 'Push It' and that's probably what Mr. Schue thinks we're going to be doing."

"Britney doesn't necessarily have to be complete and utter sexual. Her music can stand on its own, and we could prove that."

"With some sexy dancing though, right?"

"Well of course some. We can't do Britney Spears without being a little 'sexy.'" Kurt made finger quotes around 'sexy,' rolling his eyes.

"So what did you get in trouble for?" Artie inquired.

"Disrespect towards a teacher. I have detentions now. Yay." The last word was uttered sarcastically.

"Is your dad going to be mad?" Artie asked. Kurt chuckled at that.

"No. He hasn't really like Mr. Schue all that much since he had to come in here and threaten to burn the school down if I didn't get to audition for 'Defying Gravity.'" Artie had to laugh at that. It seemed farfetched, but he could actually see Burt Hummel doing just that.

"The thing is, Rachel can storm out every week because she doesn't get the solo, but I voice my opinion and I get in trouble for it," Kurt complained. "It's not fair."

"Well, she hasn't actually done that in a while," Artie pointed out fairly. "But I see your point." Kurt heaved another deep sigh and said,

"I'm just going to drop it, I guess. I don't like giving up, but I really don't want a suspension or expulsion."

"Yeah, because then we'd be down to only ten members on the team," Artie added. "And that would suck."

"Pretty much," Kurt said. The boys had reached the front doors at this point, and as they headed out, they split up; Kurt heading towards his car, Artie towards where his dad was waiting for him. They bid each other goodbye as they headed off in separate directions.

"Hey Kurt!" Artie called out as he reached his car. Kurt turned around and glanced back at him. "Just to let you know, I joined the Facebook page!" Kurt smiled and waved back at Artie.

* * *

A couple of days later, Kurt caught up with Artie after Glee club rehearsal. Artie turned to him excitedly and said,

"We get to do Brittany! Guess all that campaigning you did finally paid off –"

"Why the hell are you joining the football team?" Artie looked taken aback by Kurt's bluntness. He carefully studied the other boy's face before replying.

"I'm joining because of Tina. You know that."

"Joining the football team is _not _going to get her back. It makes absolutely no sense. And do you even know the first thing about football?"

"Nope," Artie replied cheerfully. "But I figured that I'll learn along the way." Kurt gave a deep, aggravated sigh.

"Artie, you can't just join the football team like this. You don't like it, and you're just doing it to impress someone. Those are not the right reasons." Artie paused and turned to face Kurt. He stared at him for a couple of moments before speaking up.

"Well, that's rather hypocritical of you."

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked nonplussed.

"_All the single ladies, all the single ladies,_" Artie sang softly. Kurt sighed and said,

"That's not the same thing."

"Yes it is," Artie responded. "You don't give a rat's-ass about football and you only joined to impress your dad. How is that any different?" Kurt paused for a moment, though it over then said,

"Damn it." Artie just cocked an eyebrow at him and waited for him to say something else. Kurt glared down at him and muttered, "Fine, you're right. Whatever." He started to walk down the hall again. Artie wheeled after him.

"Hey wait up," he called out. "Can you give me some pointers?" Kurt sighed in exasperation and turned around.

"Yes, because I was an offensive defender and know all about that position."

"I don't think that's what it's called," Artie mused, half to himself. "Hey what do I know? It might be. That's not the point though."

"Artie," Kurt started off, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "I'm not endorsing this idea at all. However, I know that nothing I say is going to change your mind. So, have fun playing with the Neanderthals." He turned to walk away, but stopped and turned back. "By the way, I thought you said I shouldn't have been able to play football because I was gay."

"I never said that," Artie replied, looking completely confused. "Unless…did Finn say something to you?"

"Yes he did," Kurt said.

"What I meant," Artie said, sighing, "was that the social expectations of our time put out the idea that a guy who is gay wouldn't want to play football, and wouldn't be any good at it. You proved that idea wrong. The same idea applies to those who are handicapable. Now I want to prove them wrong."

Kurt studied the other boy carefully before nodding and gesturing for Artie to follow him.

"All right, I guess you're right about that. But seriously, you're actually going to play?"

"Yes I am," Artie replied determinedly. "And nothing anyone says will change my mind."

"Whatever," Kurt said, rolling his eyes. "So back to what you were saying before. Yes, I am excited that we finally get to perform Britney at last. But now Mr. Schuester wants to join in with us? That's just–"

"Awkward?" Artie suggested.

"That's one word for it," Kurt agreed. "It also depends on what song we do."

"I can only imagine," Artie replied as they headed out the doors.

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_Just two scenarios based off the last two episodes. I've been finding a lot of parallels between Artie and Kurt, and the football one is something I just realized. So Grilled Cheesus was amazing, and I've already started writing that chapter because it was so full of potential. Thanks so much again to everyone who's reviewed, favorited, and subscribed. Feedback is much appreciated as usual. _


	3. Friend in Need

**AN: Whew, this was quite an interesting writing experience! I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and it could have been longer but I had to stop somewhere. Artie didn't even say anything in this episode, but all the little looks he was giving Kurt was quite interesting and made for some good stuff to write with. Warning, it does get a little rambling-y at points, but that's because it's dialogue. Hope you enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything.**

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_Lima Memorial Hospital – Lima, Ohio_

The stark white walls, potent smell of medicine and chemicals, and quiet bustling of nurses and doctors was the same as it had been nine years ago, Artie noticed as he made his way through the lobby. It wasn't the easiest thing in the world to come back to this place, but he pushed that out of his mind. He was here for Kurt; that was what mattered. Kurt, who could very potentially be parent-less by the end of the week. He had gotten the room number from Mr. Schuester and was slightly disconcerted to realize that it was very close to the room that Kurt's mother had spent her last few days in. He made his way towards the elevator and pushed the up button.

The noise level on the upper floor was vastly different from the one below. The staff was silent, weary looks on their faces. They were the ones that had to deal with the high risk patients. These weren't kids with arms broken from falling out of trees. These were the people suffering illnesses and diseases, most dying slowly.

Artie pushed himself in the direction of the room that Burt was in. Peering inside, he saw the man lying motionless on the bed. Kurt was standing by the foot of the bed, his back to Artie; a short, dark-skinned woman in white was packing up a case and headed toward the door. She nodded a goodbye to Kurt and acknowledged Artie with an incline of her head as she passed by him. He smiled wanly back as he pushed himself into the room.

He came to a stop a few feet behind Kurt. He knew Kurt heard him, but didn't offer any acknowledgments. After a few moments of silence, Kurt spoke up, rather bitterly,

"Have you come to pray for me?"

"No."

Kurt turned around to face him. Artie took in the expression on his face. It was a combination of exhaustion, frustration, anger, hurt sadness – and if one looked carefully – fear.

"Really? Why not?" Kurt asked almost defiantly.

"Come on, let's go get something to eat," Artie replied cryptically. "Then we can talk." Kurt gave his father one last glance before he turned to follow Artie out of the room. They ended up in the gift shop which had a counter to buy food at as well as a couple of plastic topped tables to sit at. Both ordered coffees and arranged themselves at one of the tables.

"How are you doing?" Artie asked, watching Kurt's face carefully.

"How do you think?" Kurt snapped back, sick of answering the same question over and over again. He immediately regretted it though, and opened his mouth to apologize.

"Pretty crappy is what I'm guessing," Artie mused, seemingly unfazed by the other boy's rudeness. "I know how you feel. I absolutely hated that question. There was never going to be a positive answer – at least not an honest one – but people constantly asked it." Kurt stared at him for a couple of minutes, before sighing and sitting back in his chair.

"Sorry for snapping. My nerves are a little frayed right now."

"Completely understand," Artie said, waving his hand as if to shoo away the comment.

"So, why aren't you praying for me?" Kurt asked after a few moments of silence. "I thought everyone was trying to help me with 'the power of God.'"

"You didn't want me to," Artie replied simply. "So I didn't." Kurt stared at him bemusedly. "I know that you're going through a really rough time right now, and that having something forced on you that you don't like or believe in is not going to help at all."

Something seemed to be released in Kurt's face, and his whole body sagged down in his seat. "Thank you," he finally replied hoarsely. "I think you're the only person that actually understands what I'm going through right now."

"Trust me, I know what it feels like to have people pitying you," Artie said. "And it's nice to know that they care, but sometimes…well enough is enough, you know? You just need time to sort things out for yourself, and you don't need everyone just pressing down on you constantly."

"Exactly," Kurt replied earnestly. "It's just so overwhelming. And it's a waste of time." Artie cocked his head confusedly at Kurt. "The praying is a waste of time," Kurt elaborated. "If there's no one there to hear you, what good is it?"

"Maybe," Artie replied carefully. "But for some people, that's their way of handling the situation. It makes them feel better. They can't really do anything else, so that's all they can resort to. It's something to grasp onto when it seems like nothing else is there."

"But it makes me uncomfortable and they're just forcing it on me," Kurt complained. "How is that supposed to help at all? I didn't really care if they wanted to sing about it earlier, but don't use it on me. Don't make me try and believe in something I don't."

"That's where everyone is wrong," Artie responded. "If they wanted to pray by themselves for you or your dad, that's fine. They shouldn't be forcing it on you though." Kurt studied Artie for a couple of minutes, clearly deep in thought.

"Do you believe in God?" Kurt asked out of nowhere. Artie pondered the question for a couple of minutes before answering,

"I don't know." Kurt made a face at him. "Seriously though, I don't. I mean, on one hand, what kind of person would cause an eight year old to lose his ability to walk?" Kurt started to nod his agreement before Artie continued.

"But then again, it could have been so much worse. I could have ended up as a quad – that's a quadriplegic. Paralyzed from the chest or neck down. I could have died. My mother could have been seriously injured or killed. My baby sister could have been in the car and killed. Despite some alterations, I've been able to go about my life in a relatively normal way."

"You can't possibly be happy with living the way you are," Kurt said frowning.

"I'm not thrilled, no," Artie mused. "I hate it to be quite honest. After the accident, I remember asking my mom why God hated me. Why he had done this to me. I eventually realized that made her really upset, so I kept it to myself. But I still was angry for a really long time."

"What made you not angry anymore?" Kurt asked.

"Time," Artie replied simply. "It just took lots of time for me to accept that this was my life, and nothing was going to change that. I've still not completely accepted it; I don't know if I ever will. But I've made do with it. That's my way of dealing."

"You learn something, suffer because of it for awhile, then just chalk it up to being your new reality and deal with it," Kurt said softly. Artie nodded slowly.

"Exactly." The boys sat in silence for a while, both sipping at their coffees before Kurt spoke up again.

"You never really answered my question."

"I don't know if I believe in God," Artie repeated. "I'd like to think there's something out there; something we can rely on when there's nothing left in this world to cling onto. Honestly, at this point, I have no idea what I believe."

"Fair enough," Kurt concluded. "I'm just glad you're not forcing it down my throat."

"Don't be too hard on everyone else," Artie said. "They just want to help. I mean, at this time a year ago, would that have happened? You would have had maybe five people that actually cared enough. Half the people supporting you now would have been tossing slushies at you or calling you names in the hall instead of praying for you and your dad."

"No, I know that," Kurt said with a deep sigh. "I am grateful that they all care so much. It's just…too much, you know? I mean earlier today, Rachel – who has never met my dad before in her life – was in here _singing _to him. It was just weird and felt intrusive."

"Yeah that is kind of weird," Artie concluded. "But it is Rachel. Did you just expect her to sit quietly by herself and pray in silence?"

"Good point," Kurt admitted. "But I'm just sick of everyone pushing their beliefs on me. Making me feel like what I believe in is wrong. It's just one more way of enforcing the idea that everything about me is wrong, especially in the society we live in."

"You're hardly the only one that doesn't believe in God," Artie said frowning. "Just in our group. There are probably plenty of other people in the school and town that don't believe."

"Yes, but I'm the gay guy who doesn't believe in God," Kurt replied bitterly. "Just keep pushing the stereotype. That's not why I don't believe. The reaction of other people and how they use religion to justify how I'm going to hell is just the icing on the cake." He paused to take a breath. "What kind of God takes a completely, loving, sweet, perfect person, makes them suffer, and then kills them? And don't give me that 'Oh because she's so great that he wanted her with him' crap."

"I wasn't going to," Artie replied. "I honestly don't know what I would do if I had one of my parents taken from me that way. I really don't. I met her, remember? I saw that she was suffering, and even though I met her for all of five minutes, I really liked her."

"Why?" Kurt inquired.

"Because even though she was lying in that bed, looking like it was one of her last days on earth, and I was this kid stuck in a wheelchair and having to deal with this great big horrible change in my life, she treated me like I was just a friend of yours that was coming over to hang out. There weren't any pitying looks, no treating me like I was some fragile piece of glass that could break any second. She treated me normally which is more than I could say for just about everyone else in that hospital."

A silence descended over the two boys. Kurt was staring into his now-empty coffee cup, mulling over what Artie had just said. More than ever, he was glad he had this strange connection with the other boy. None of their other friends had ever gone through anything like they had. Sure, Finn had lost his father, but he was barely old enough to have even been there. He hadn't suffered for weeks, months, even years of struggles. And despite all the bad, all the hurt and worry that Kurt was under, there was a small glimmer of hope. He wasn't alone. He had people to rely on. He wasn't fond of their methods, but knowing that people like Puck and Santana actually _cared _about him was mind-boggling.

And Artie… he glanced across the table at the boy who was emptying his fourth sugar packet into his coffee. The boy who blurted out the most inappropriate things at the worst times; the skinny white nerdy guy who tried to talk ghetto and managed to embarrass himself on a weekly basis by what came out of his mouth had just said exactly what Kurt had needed to hear.

"Do you think my dad will make it?" Kurt asked hesitantly. This was the question that was bombarding him constantly. He had spent many sleepless nights mulling over just that, the question bouncing around in his head. He had tried and failed to imagine life without his dad. He had been a constant; something for Kurt to always rely on. If he wasn't there – well Kurt wasn't sure what he would do.

"I know I'm sounding like a broken record, but I really don't know," Artie replied honestly. "I'm no doctor – I barely passed biology last year. What have the doctors said?"

"I have no idea," Kurt said with a humorless laugh. "All this medical mumbo-jumbo makes no sense. From what I've gathered, he's got about a 50/50 chance. So…there's no answer for real."

"If something would happen," Artie began cautiously. "What would you do? Like, who would you stay with?"

"Carole said that I would be staying with them," Kurt said, staring at the tabletop. "But I'd feel like I was intruding. We're not technically a family. And at eighteen, I'd leave. Go to college; get away from this town and all the memories."

"I don't think you'll have to worry about it though," Artie stated. Kurt looked up at him in confusion. "I think that your dad could make it. If it could swing either way, then you have to influence it to swing in the positive way."

"By how? Praying for him?" Kurt said mockingly.

"Talk to him," Artie replied simply.

"He's in a coma, Artie," Kurt sighed. "He's not going to hear me."

"That's not true," Artie argued. "I was out for a couple of days after my accident. I don't remember anyone really talking, but my mom was singing to me. I remember that more clearly than anything else."

"What song?" Kurt asked skeptically.

"_Let it Be,"_ Artie replied. "Wanna know why I like the Beatles so much? They got me through the most difficult thing in my entire life. I recognized my mother's voice, somewhere in my sub-consciousness and in a weird way… it gave me hope. That was the first thing I remembered when I woke up too."

"So when he wakes up, he's going to be obsessed with the movie _Yentl?" _Kurt asked. The boys shared a quiet chuckle. Kurt thought about what Artie had said, and realized that he hadn't really _talked_ to his father. He just sat there and watched his silent, unmoving form.

"What should I talk to him about?" Kurt asked in a small voice.

"Anything at all," Artie said. "Tell him about Glee, how you're doing in school. Encourage him and let him know you're counting on him. If there's one thing I know about your dad, it's that he will do absolutely anything for you."

* * *

They made their way back to Burt's room in silence. When they reached it, Kurt stared around, not completely sure what to do. It was actually past visiting hours, so he figured that he should probably be heading home.

"So, I was wondering," Artie began. "Since you've been staying by yourself and I figured that probably isn't much fun, would you like to spend the night? My mom said it'd be fine if you did." Kurt stared at Artie in surprise and wondered, not for the first time, if the boy could read his mind.

The thought of going back to his dark, empty house was not an appealing idea at all though. He had spent one night at the Hudson's, and the night after that at Mercedes' house. However he ended up going back to his house, even though he was by himself. Carole and Finn had been treating him like he was going to break any second, and although Mercedes' parents were fine with him being there, (they were getting used to random teenagers staying at their house,) both of them were rather cautious and quiet around him. What he needed, craved was just some normalcy.

"Yeah, that'd be nice," he heard himself saying. A few minutes later, he found himself following Artie out to the now mostly empty parking lot to wait for Mr. Abrams. The white van pulled up minutes later, and the boys got them situated in it. The ride back was rather quiet, only broken by the smooth jazz station that was playing on the radio, and Mr. Abrams' inquiries on how their day at school had been.

When they reached the Abrams household, Kurt was much more relaxed than he had been in almost a week. There hadn't been any awkward or concerned questions about his father's condition, and after his conversation with Artie he had almost forgotten about the issues he was having with his other friends.

Artie and Kurt ended up sitting at the kitchen table finishing up their homework together. Kurt took a moment to revel in the normalcy of the situation. Mrs. Abrams, who had greeted him warmly but not pressed him about his father, was quizzing Artie's little sister on spelling words in the living room. Meanwhile, Mr. Abrams had kicked back in his armchair and was reading the newspaper. There were no pressures on him and no worries or concerns. It felt – nice.

When it came time for bed, the two boys – with some struggling and confusion – managed to get a cot set up in Artie's room. They took turns in the bathroom, changing and brushing their teeth. Artie had to laugh at the sight of Kurt in a pair of baggy sweatpants and a faded ARMY shirt that Artie had stolen from his older brother's room. Kurt had sniffed and turned his nose up while saying that he was rocking them better than any jock ever could.

The boys got into their respective beds and Kurt had to marvel at the ease that Artie displayed as he transferred himself from the chair to the bed. Artie leaned over to switch the lamp off after placing his glasses on the bedside table.

"Hey Artie?" Kurt spoke into the darkness after a couple of minutes. A muffled grunt was his affirmation that Artie was still awake.

"Thank you."

* * *

_And there you go. So, I'm not completely sure what I'm doing for the next chapter because last week's episode made me rather upset. Someone needs to give Artie a good smack and a wake-up talk. Should I have Kurt do that? Anyways, your reviews and feedback are always much appreciated and make me enjoy writing this so much more. Thanks to everyone that has reviewed, favorited, and subscribed so far. You guys are the greatest!_


	4. Secrets

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything.**

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"You seriously need to stop copying me."

Artie glanced up from the guitar in his lap that he was currently trying to tune. Kurt was standing in the doorway of the choir room, arms crossed, staring him down. He didn't look particularly upset, just slightly exasperated.

"I thought we discussed the football thing," Artie replied, confused as to what Kurt was talking about. Instead of responding, the other boy strode slowly into the room, coming to a stop in front of Artie, looking him straight in the eye the entire time. Artie stared back, eyebrow raised, not sure where Kurt was going with this.

"Dating. Brittany," Kurt said slowly. "Really? You couldn't come up with something else? Is it just copy-every-ridiculous-idea-Kurt-has-ever-had month with you?"

"Oh, that," Artie replied, turning back to the guitar.

"Yes, that," Kurt snapped, drawing Artie's attention up to him. "Exactly what were you planning on accomplishing there?"

"Well, I needed a duet partner, and she offered. Plus, how often do pretty, popular, blonde cheerleaders want to go out with me? Never, that's when," Artie added before Kurt could interrupt.

"Okay Artie, we're talking about the girl who went out with _me._ The girl who believed that I stopped being gay. The girl who thinks that a duet is a type of blanket."

"So what?" Artie said defensively. "Am I supposed to just sit around and be lonely for the rest of my life?"

"That's hardly going to happen" Kurt scoffed. "High school isn't the rest of your life."

"So you're saying that I'm going to be alone for the rest of my high school career?" Artie asked defensively.

"No, that's not what I meant," Kurt said exasperatedly. "Just…stop being an idiot!" A silence followed his proclamation as the boys stared each other down.

"What do you mean?" Artie asked, breaking the silence. "How have I been an idiot?" Kurt stared at Artie in disbelief.

"Are you seriously asking this question?" Kurt asked.

"Yes I am," Artie answered defiantly. "Everyone keeps telling me that, but no one is telling what I'm doing wrong."

"First off," Kurt said. "The football team? No point whatsoever. Secondly, she attempts to bridge the gap between you to, and you refuse it. You act like an ass quite frankly, and you guys could have been friends right now. Thirdly, dating Brittany only to make Tina jealous. You were just using Brittany which was very fair to her."

"Well she was just using me," Artie muttered, turning away from Kurt to put the guitar back in the stand.

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked in confusion.

"She and Santana were fighting about something, and Santana didn't want to be her duet partner, so she used me for the competition and for having sex and she didn't even –"

"Wait, what?" Kurt exclaimed, cutting across Artie. "You had sex with her?"

"Shh, don't shout it to the whole world," Artie said, trying to get Kurt to stop talking so loudly. Kurt stared at the other in disbelief before shaking his head and saying,

"Fine. It's your life. I shouldn't be commenting on it."

"Never stopped you before," Artie offered up jokingly. Kurt just gave him a look before continuing.

"So, why did you do it? Other than the obvious reasons. I thought you were waiting for someone special. It's kind of well known that Brittany doesn't discriminate when it comes to sex."

"I thought it did mean something," Artie protested. "And I didn't know that about her." Kurt just raised one disbelieving eyebrow at Artie.

"Okay fine," he repented. "I was partially doing it because of Tina." Kurt heaved a big sigh at this, and moved to sit in the chair next to Artie.

"I kind of figured that," he admitted. "Were you trying to make her jealous?"

"When I was dating Brittany, yes," Artie replied. "The sex… I was trying to get over my feelings for her. I figured that if I found someone else to love… well then I wouldn't be so upset all the time, just thinking about her."

Kurt took a few minutes to digest that, carefully studying Artie the whole time.

"Did it work?" he finally asked.

"No," Artie answered simply, turning to fidget with the wheel on his chair. Kurt could see the sadness and regret etched into his face.

"Well…that sucks," Kurt offered up. Artie snorted at that.

"Yeah, just a little bit."

"Why exactly did you break up with her?" Kurt asked tentatively.

"Santana told me that Brittany was just using me. Apparently the only thing a girl can get out a relationship with me compared to other guys is free parking spaces," Artie explained bitterly.

Kurt just shook his head in disbelief at that. "Don't listen to Santana. She's a bitch. She was probably just jealous of Brittany giving you so much attention."

"Doesn't change the past now, does it?" Artie asked, mostly to himself.

"I would usually say something encouraging here," Kurt ventured. "But I'm pretty sure there's nothing that I could say that would help the situation."

"Well 'I have a time machine' would be a good one," Artie quipped.

"Sorry, it's in the shop," Kurt replied, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Artie let a real smile grace his face at that, and heaved a deep sigh before straightening up and turning back to Kurt.

"So, enough about my mess of a love life, what about you? Anything interesting happening?" Kurt scoffed at that.

"Oh nothing new. Just falling in love with people who are straight and completely unavailable. The usual, you know."

"Sam?" Artie inquired. Kurt gave a nod of consent. "Yeah I kind of figured that. Why did you guys end up not working together?"

"Finn kept bugging me about how I was going to freak him out, and how it was inappropriate for two guys to have a duet together."

"Really?" Artie said in surprise. "That doesn't sound like something he would have said."

"Well, that wasn't exactly verbatim, but that's the gist of it. Sam didn't seem too uncomfortable with it, but I figured that it was probably for the best."

"Because if you two did sing a duet together, who else outside of Glee club would have even known? Or cared enough to even find out?" Artie asked confusedly. Kurt stared at him for a moment before saying,

"You know, I never thought of it that way."

"Finn obviously didn't either," Artie replied, trying to joke around.

"Doesn't matter now," Kurt said. "He's happily in love with Quinn now. So much for me."

"Eh, I don't know about that," Artie replied. "Their relationship isn't going to be all sunshine and smiles."

"What do you mean?" Kurt inquired. Artie gave a snort and replied,

"I just keep imagining what's going to happen once Puck gets out of juvie."

Kurt had to laugh at that image. "Sam's going to have to transfer schools again."

Artie peered closely at his friend. "Are you really upset about this?"

"Not really," Kurt admitted. "True, I did hold out some hope that he was playing for my team, but that chances of that happening are slim to none right about now. At least this time it didn't end with derogatory insults and weeks of awkwardness afterwards."

"There is that," Artie replied thoughtfully. "But hey, Sam could be holding out on you."

"I highly doubt that," Kurt said shaking his head. "Not when he's dating pretty, little miss perfect blonde cheerleader. That does seem to be the type."

"Not mine," Artie said quietly. "Guess I found that out the hard way."

"Blue haired, punk Goth, combat boot wearing girls are more your thing?" Kurt asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I guess so," Artie mumbled. "Not that it's going to help me now."

"You know," Kurt began. "If you want some advice –"

"I'll know to come to you," Artie interrupted. "I know I'm not doing the best I can right now Kurt, but I need to figure some things out on my own. This is one of them. So thanks but no thanks." Kurt nodded in understanding. "Just…stop me if I'm going to do something incredibly stupid."

"Will do," Kurt said with a quiet laugh. "If I can possibly guess what it is, because most of the stuff you do is hard to predict." Artie had quite a proud smile on his face at that, and Kurt leant over to smack him on the arm.

"Not something to be proud of Arthur," he mock scolded.

"Whatever, _Kurtis,"_ Artie shot back. Kurt stiffened at that.

"Oh sure, _that_ you remember. Here's the deal; you don't tell anyone that's my real name, and I'll keep your Brittany secret. Artie stared at him in amusement for a moment before laughing and replying,

"Deal."

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_Sorry for the long wait, you guys. School has been kicking my butt and unfortunately this chapter didn't really seem to go anywhere. I have an idea for Rocky Horror, not sure if I'm going to use it yet or not. I do have a poll in my profile about some ideas of stories with these two, so go vote and let me know what you want me to write. Next episode should have some good stuff for both of them hopefully! Also, I'm on Tumblr, Twitter, etc so if you want to follow me and get to know me as a (slightly weird) person, the links are in my profile as well. Thanks so much for all the awesome feedback. Reviews and thoughts are welcome as always!_


	5. Stereotypes

**AN: Since most of my chapters have just been conversations so far, this one bounces back and forth between viewpoints before getting to the talking. Just wanted to mix it up a bit.**

**DISCLAIMER: As always, I don't own anything.**

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Artie had to admit that he was a little surprised at Mr. Schuester's decision to put on Rocky Horror. He had seen the movie before, and although it was one that he liked, it did have some questionable content in it. The school had been outraged when they performed "Push It," but was going to allow a musical about alien transvestites? He decided not to dwell on the logic of that for too long.

When Mr. Schuester started talking about casting, Artie quickly went over the list of characters in his head. He honestly couldn't really see himself in any of the roles. Most of the male roles were easily attributable to other members in the club, and he didn't think he could quite pull off a Janet or Magenta. If he was being honest with himself, he knew who he would be cast as. It was too easy really –make the guy in the wheelchair play the guy in the wheelchair. Mr. Schue confirmed it easily, and Artie was stuck in the role.

Kurt had to shake his head in disbelief at Mr. Schuester's idea. He had fought tooth and nail to do _Britney Spears _which wasn't really that bad, but doing _Rocky Horror _was fine? He loved the movie, but he wasn't comfortable enough to even watch it with his father; performing it in front of the whole school was slightly unnerving. And when Mr. Schuester offered him the role of Frank 'n Furter, he had stared in disbelief. Did the man not realize that Kurt got picked on for his normal clothes everyday? Just because he was much more fashionably aware than the uncultured swine at school, he was insulted and belittled. Frank would be a fun character to play, but not in front of everyone in the school. Besides, it was the stereotypical role that everyone would expect him to play.

Artie had to refrain from rolling his eyes when Mike offered to play Frank instead of Kurt. He had sung a total of one time – and it kind of wasn't even singing – which did not count as experience. Artie was willing to bet money that Mike hadn't even seen the movie. Although, apparently the only people in the club who had were the original members and for some strange reason, Quinn. Not that Artie particularly wanted to play the role of Frank, but he was slightly offended that Mr. Schue was so willing to give Mike the lead, yet Artie hadn't gotten anything since their Hair/Crazy in Love mash up last year. And Artie had been one of the few members who had actually joined the club in the beginning and never quit.

Kurt ignored the typical comment from Santana and started thinking over the other roles he could play. Brad was filled by Finn, Rocky by Sam, and Dr. Scott by Artie. There was Eddie, Riff Raff, and the Criminologist. He mentally went over the roles in his head, comparing how much screen time and singing they each got. His mind landed on Riff Raff who ended the play in a pretty awesome position. He lamented the fact that Rachel wasn't playing a character that he would be "killing" before raising his hand to volunteer for the role.

Artie did have to admit that being able to wear a fake moustache for the role was definitely a perk. However, that was about the only one. He had to wear the prop glasses over his regular ones which was very uncomfortable. Mr. Schue had insisted that he was in full costume, and since the prop ones weren't prescription and he didn't like wearing contacts, he had to make do with what he had.

Kurt was quite enjoying the Riff Raff costume. He had always secretly wanted to wear a bald cap, and the result was amusing to say the least. The makeup crew had done an amazing job on him, and he practically scared himself the first time he looked in the mirror. He had been the only one getting his makeup done at the time, so he took great advantage of the fact that no one else had seen him. During the first rehearsal in full costume, he spent a great deal of time sneaking up behind people and scaring them. The girls had varying results, most of them painful. Rachel and Quinn had both screamed and Rachel had actually fallen to the ground in shock, while Tina and Santana had both hit him rather hard on the shoulder once they realized it was him. Mercedes had been so startled that she threw the book in her hand at him, which was quite painful. Brittany had simply glanced over her shoulder at him and greeted him cheerfully.

The boys, if anything, were funnier to scare than the girls. Finn had given a great shout, leaped backwards, and tripped and fallen over a chair. Mike had made a sort of squeak and aimed a kick at him that Kurt luckily dodged. Sam had screamed as well and let out a rather impressive stream of curses while waving his arms madly, trying to ward him off like he was the devil or something.

Kurt was feeling quite proud of himself for scaring just about everyone with his costume, and was hiding backstage waiting for his last victim. Artie had just finished doing a scene and had headed back to take a break. Checking first to make sure no one was around that would spoil his fun, he carefully crept up behind the other boy who was humming one of the songs under his breath. He reached out a hand in his now-patented "creepy should grip" when Artie said out of the blue,

"Hey Kurt, what's up?"

Kurt gave a yelp and jumped backwards, not expecting that at all. Artie turned around to face him with a triumphant grin on his face. Kurt glared right back at him.

"I almost had a perfect record! Why did you have to wreck it?" he demanded.

"Because it was totally worth it just seeing the look on your face," Artie replied, still grinning.

Kurt gave an indignant huff. "How did you even know I was behind you?"

"Easy," Artie scoffed. "I knew I was the only one left, I saw your shadow, and hello, there's a mirror up there." He pointed and Kurt saw that there, indeed, was a mirror hanging that he hadn't previously noticed.

"Fine then, _Dr. Scott,_ just be all smart and ruin my fun," Kurt huffed, crossing his arms.

"Okey dokey," Artie agreed cheerfully. "Props on the costume though. I could see how it scared everyone."

"I'm thinking of just using this for my Halloween costume," Kurt mused.

"You could scare all the little kids away if you guys didn't want to give out candy," Artie chuckled.

Kurt considered it for a moment. "There are some really annoying kids in my neighborhood. And this costume is pretty scary. I got my dad with it actually."

"Kurt!" Artie said looking scandalized. "He's recovering from a heart attack! Don't give him another one!"

"I didn't do it on purpose," Kurt protested. "I wore it home because I wanted to freak people out as I drove home. He didn't turn the light on when he came into the kitchen and I had honestly forgotten I was wearing it. I don't know what it is, but people like to throw stuff at me when I'm in this costume."

"What did he throw at you?" Artie asked amusedly.

"A wooden spoon," Kurt said dryly. "That actually hurt pretty badly."

Artie chuckled before moving to take the blanket off his lap and put it back on the costume rack. "So you're enjoying being Riff Raff then, I presume?"

"Yes, I suppose I am," Kurt said thoughtfully. "I'm no Richard O'Brien, but it is a fun role to play."

"You're not the Frank 'n Furter type then?" Artie asked.

Kurt sniffed. "Well although everyone thinks the gay guy should play the transvestite, no I'm not."

"Just like the guy in the wheelchair should play the guy in the wheelchair, right?"

Kurt examined Artie carefully, mulling over the other boy's words. "Yes," he finally said. "Exactly like that. If you felt that way, why did you volunteer for that role?"

"Why not?" Artie retorted. "Mr. Schue was going to assign it to me anyways, and it would look ridiculous for me to be playing anyone else. Plus then we'd have two people in wheelchairs on stage, and it would just be stupid."

"But isn't that Rocky Horror is about? Breaking down barriers and stereotypes? Dr. Scott didn't have to be in a wheelchair."

"Tell that to the purists," Artie replied. Kurt snorted at that.

"Rocky Horror show fans in Lima? More than half the club didn't even know what it was before this."

"Doesn't matter now though," Artie said. "We've been cast. Our roles are set. You managed to switch it up a bit, but it's not always gonna be that way. We're always going to be stuck in our stereotypes."

"At least while we're in high school we will," Kurt agreed. "But maybe – just maybe – one day we'll be able to break out of them."

"If you don't land in jail first for terrifying some five year olds, then maybe we just might," Artie chuckled.

* * *

_Oh wow, this weeks episode. I don't even know what to think. I'm probably going to do one of the ones in my poll because I honestly don't know what I would write for that episode. Feedback is much appreciated as always!_


	6. Kissing

**AN: This is the one-shot in the poll that had the most votes. I will do the others, but since this was first, I did it first. Warning: very AU especially considering last weeks episode. If the bullies don't sound threatening or realistic, well it's probably because I'm not a very threatening or bullying type of person so fair warning. :)**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING. **

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It was one of those days where it should have been bone-chillingly cold out but Mother Nature decided to pull a fast one on everyone and make it almost warm and sunny without a cloud in the sky. As a result, a large majority of McKinley students headed over to the Lima Freeze after school for a treat. Artie, Kurt, and Mercedes had decided to make a stop after Glee club and were pleased to find that most of the crowds had cleared out and they were able to find an empty table right away. As they waited for their order, they chatted aimlessly about what was going on at the school.

Their quiet conversation was interrupted however, by a cheerful greeting that came from the doorway of the restaurant. Rachel – with Finn right behind her – was heading straight towards their table. Artie distinctly heard Kurt mutter, "Please go away," before the couple reached them.

"Hey you guys, can we sit with you?" Rachel asked, bouncing up and down on her toes, Finn standing behind her with a sheepish smile on his face. Ignoring Kurt's muttered disapproval across from her, Mercedes readily agreed. Rachel plopped down next to Mercedes while Finn pulled up a chair to sit at the head of the booth. The five soon fell into conversation about the newest song that Mr. Schue had brought up for Glee, only pausing to give the waitress their order.

After sitting there for a couple of minutes, Rachel announced that she had to use the bathroom. Mercedes got up and went with her, the two girls talking as they headed to the restroom. Finn slid into the vacated booth opposite Artie and Kurt.

"Why do they have to go together? I really don't get that," Finn said, watching the backs of the retreating girls. When the other two boys shrugged noncommittally, he changed the topic.

"So, what do you think the odds are of us winning our next game?" he asked eagerly.

"No idea," Artie replied cheerfully, ignoring Kurt's eye roll at the mention of sports.

"Do you even care?" Finn asked him.

"Nope," came the reply. Finn's brow furrowed in confusion, but before he could pursue the topic any further, two hulking shadows fell over their table.

The three boys looked up to see the unpleasantly familiar forms of Azimio and Karofsky, both with mocking smiles on their faces. Artie felt, rather than saw, Kurt stiffen beside him and across the table Finn was looking rather uncomfortable as well.

"Well, look here," Azimio drawled cruelly. "The little fairy and his girlfriends. Spreading the gay around, huh Hummel?" Both the bullies chuckled at the jab while Kurt had become rather fixated on his water glass and was studiously ignoring the jocks. Finn didn't look like he was going to say anything anytime soon either, so Artie rolled his eyes and turned to address the bullies.

"You two are complete idiots," he said calmly. Finn and Kurt both turned to look at him in surprise.

"Excuse me?" Azimio demanded.

"You heard me," Artie responded. "You don't become gay by just hanging out with someone who is. That's like saying that because I'm friends with Mercedes, I'm going to turn black."

"But you like him so you are gay," Karofsky said. Artie stared at the other boy in disbelief.

"No," he said slowly. "I'm saying that I can be friends with Kurt and it doesn't mean I'm gay."

"But you will eventually turn gay," Azimio said, clearly pleased with his logic. Artie gave a sigh of exasperation and mentally asked himself why he was even wasting time with these idiots.

"I'm straight. I like girls. That's never going to change. Hanging out with Kurt won't change my sexuality. _Nothing _will." With that, Artie turned to Kurt who was watching him with a wary expression, placed one hand on the back of Kurt's head, pulled him forward and kissed him full on the mouth.

He pulled away and turned back to the bullies, looking them straight on and said,

"Oh look, I just kissed another guy and guess what? I'm still straight! Like I said before, you two are idiots."

The two jocks had identical expressions of shock and disbelief on their faces. Azimio shook his head slowly as though trying to rid the image from his mind before saying,

"Dude, let's get out of here."

"Yeah, before they start kissing again," Karofsky agreed, looking shaken. The two left, shooting one last glare at the boys sitting at the table. Artie merely stuck out his tongue at the retreating letterman jacket-clad backs before turning his attention back to the table.

"What?" he asked nonplussed, looking at the two completely shocked expressions of the boys sitting with him.

"Oh my God," Finn managed to say. "So wait, are you gay?" Artie gave a groan of frustration and buried his face in his arms and said with his voice slightly muffled,

"Do we really have to go over this again Finn?"

A burst of giggles announced the return of the girls. Rachel slid in next to Finn while Mercedes took his vacated chair. They looked around, taking in Finn and Kurt's shocked faces and Artie who had propped his face up on his arms and was looking at Finn in exasperation.

"Okay, what happened?" Mercedes asked.

"Artie kissed Kurt," Finn explained, gesturing wildly with his hands, as to emphasize the importance of the situation.

"WHAT?" Both girls yelled, leaning forward towards the two boys. Artie regarded them with disinterest while Kurt continued to stare off into space in shock. Mercedes gave Artie's shoulder a shove which only resulted in a noncommittal grunt.

"You kissed him?"

"On the lips?"

"Right now?"

"While we were gone?"

"Why did you?"

"Do it again!"

The last statement came from Rachel who shrank back in her seat at the four surprised gazes directed on her.

"What?" she protested defensively. "I kind of want to see it."

"You have two gay dads – as you constantly remind us." Mercedes pointed out. "This should hardly be something new to you."

"But it's _Artie _and _Kurt,"_ Rachel stressed. "I kind of want to see that, don't you?"

"Well yeah," Mercedes responded matter-of-factly. "It's like, nerdy but hot at the same time. I just didn't expect you to want to."

"So why did you kiss him?" Rachel asked, turning her attention back to Artie who had been watching the exchange between the girls.

"To prove a point to the bullies," he replied simply. The girls exchanged a glance, but before anyone else could say anything, the waitress arrived with their ice creams. The rest of the time was spent eating and not much talking went on. After they finished, Finn and Rachel bid the others goodbye and left, hand in hand. Mercedes got up to go wash her hands off, pointing at the boys and saying warningly,

"No making out while I'm gone." Artie just waved her off and continued scraping at the bottom of his bowl for the last drops of ice cream. Kurt set his spoon down in his bowl and turned to face Artie. Artie tried to read the expression on his face, but it was like a blank slate.

"Look Kurt, I'm sorry–"

"Sorry?" Kurt interrupted him. "For what?"

"For you, kissing you. I don't know if I overstepped any boundaries there."

"No, it's all right," Kurt said, waving it away with his hand. "I'm not mad. I'm just…surprised?"

"I could see why," Artie said with a smile. Kurt cracked one as well and chuckled a little.

"Surprised is an understatement. I never in a million years expected that."

"Well, I was going for extreme and I figured that was the most extreme I could go without it getting PG-13 and potentially awkward for our friendship."

Kurt stared at Artie for a minute before shaking his head and saying,

"Do you honestly not hear what comes out of your mouth?" Kurt asked, half serious.

"Nope, not really. I just word vomit all over the place," Artie replied cheekily. Kurt just shook his head, smiling still. Mercedes arrived back at the table at that point, and looked suspiciously between the boys.

"No Mercedes, we didn't make out while you were gone," Artie said. "And no we won't do it again for your viewing pleasure."

"You suck," she replied. "Of course you kiss in front of Finn who wouldn't even appreciate it."

"Well then don't go to the bathroom next time," Artie shot back.

"Yes, because I knew you were going to do that," she replied at the same time Kurt said,

"Next time?" Artie looked between the two and just shook his head.

"You both wish."

Mercedes rolled her eyes at him and Kurt gave his shoulder a push as the three headed out towards the door.

* * *

_Hee hee, making them kiss was so much fun. :) I'm working on something for last week's episode and thanks for all the suggestions. Thanks so much to everyone who's reviewed. Feedback is much appreciated as always!_


	7. Weddings

**AN: Argh, sorry you guys. This chapter didn't want to work with me; I changed my direction on it multiple times. This is set during "Furt" and yes, I am skipping episodes 6 and 7 (at least for right now.) How awesome was Artie sticking up for Kurt? Anyways, hope you enjoy, and there's a link to the YouTube video that I reference in my profile.**

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Kurt and Finn – mostly Kurt – announced their parent's engagement in front of the Glee club later that day, and proposed the idea of New Directions performing at the reception. Everyone agreed that it would be fun, and Kurt assured them that he would let them all know all the details once they were worked out. He was clearly excited about his new role as wedding planner and made sure to sit behind Finn and Puck during rehearsal so he could sketch out ideas instead of having to pay attention to Mr. Schue talk about step-ball changes again.

He spent most of the afternoon and night outlining plans and ideas and wouldn't have gone to bed at all if his father hadn't pried his notebook out of his hands, and rather ungracefully shoved him into bed.

"Go to sleep already Kurt," Burt said exasperatedly, looking down at the now-grumpy teen staring at him with a pouty expression on his face. "You'll have plenty of time to do this in the next couple of weeks.

Kurt was completely immersed in plans, and quite frankly he was glad of the distraction. He hadn't had a project in awhile and he loved being able to focus all his attention on one thing. It gave him something to think about other than the always looming presence of Karofsky.

He found himself sitting in the choir room a couple of days later, going over a list of hor'dourves while Artie was over by the band equipment, playing a song softly on the guitar. He was debating whether or not to include those little hot dogs wrap-ups that his dad adored when Artie hit a wrong note.

"Ouch," he commented calmly as the other boy sighed and adjusted his hands, trying the chord out again.

"I don't like the school's guitars," Artie replied, glaring down at the instrument. "I miss my baby."

"Your…baby?" Kurt asked incredulously. Artie glanced up at him and nodded.

"Yup. She's a beauty. However, this school is nowhere near safe enough for me to bring her here." Kurt scoffed his agreement at that statement and looked back down at his list. Artie studied his friend carefully. Kurt seemed worn out; but not from the wedding planning. He was in his element in that regard; it was something different.

It was no secret that Karofsky had been bugging him more than usual, but Kurt had never let it get to him before. Artie wasn't sure what the change was; maybe it was getting to be too much or something. Either way, the change in Kurt was becoming much more pronounced. He was more skittish and just looked plain uncomfortable all the time.

Artie set the guitar back in its stand, giving it one last glare before heading over to where Kurt was sitting.

"Do you need any help with anything?"

"Do you know anything about wedding dresses?" At the blank look on the other boys face, Kurt smiled and said, "That's what I thought."

"Well, do you know what we're doing – or singing – yet?"

"No," Kurt said with a sigh. "There are obviously plenty of appropriate songs out there, but I just want it to be special. Something that we'll remember for a really long time. But nothing seems to be sticking out."

"I blame this idea entirely on the numerous hours I spend on the internet," Artie began. "But have you ever seen the video of the wedding where the bridesmaids and groomsmen dance down the aisle? Where they play that Chris Brown song?"

"Yes, I've seen that," Kurt said, looking up at Artie, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. "That was a pretty neat idea."

"Hmm, I suppose it was," Artie replied casually. "I don't suppose we could do something like that, could we?"

Kurt had to laugh at the hopeful expression that the other boy was doing a poor job of concealing. "Tell you what Artie," he said. "I'll look at the video tonight and try and think of a way that we could do something like that."

"Yes!" Artie whispered with a fist pump.

* * *

That night, Kurt went home and watched the video that Artie was talking about. It had been awhile since he had watched it, but as the scene progressed, he couldn't help but put him and his friends in position of the people dancing. Kurt leaned back in his chair as he considered the idea. Obviously they had more people involved in the one online, but New Directions could most definitely make it work.

The next day at school, he gave Artie a thumbs-up as he passed him in the hallway, to which the other boy grinned widely at. They had study hall together, so they started brainstorming then. After pairing everyone up, they discussed what each pair would do as they made their way down the aisle. Kurt had to admit that he was surprised at Artie's suggestions. The boy couldn't dance, but he had quite the choreographic mind. And apparently he was quite a fan of weddings, so he was throwing himself into the planning rather enthusiastically.

It was Artie who actually came up with the song idea as well. Kurt hadn't even heard the Bruno Mars song before, but after listening to it, he agreed that it would be a fun song for them to do. Granted, the lyrics weren't perfect for the setting, but Artie reassured him that the amazing dancing would distract from that. He also asked if he could have some streamers or something; he felt that they would "add to the festivities and make the whole situation even brighter and more adorable." Kurt wasn't sure where Artie was getting all these ideas from, but decided to roll with the punches and give him what he wanted. Besides, streamers sounded like a good idea, and he only wished he had thought of them first.

* * *

He had been rather immersed in the wedding plans, but Karofsky kept showing up, bothering and harassing him. The assaults had only gotten worse, and Kurt wasn't sure how much longer he could handle the constant abuse. Needless to say, he was quite shocked when Sam, Mike, Artie, and Puck came into the choir room, fresh battle wounds and all, talking about how they had just confronted Karofsky. He couldn't help but think back to the scene in the classroom a couple of weeks ago when they dismissed him and his ideas for the mash up. Now they had taken on one of the biggest bullies in the school, to try and protect him.

Each new aspect of the story surprised or shocked him. Artie and Mike had teamed up and worked together; a very rare occurrence in itself. Artie had been knocked out of his chair, and Puck had _not _fought at all. Sam of all people had jumped in and started beating up on Karofsky, earning himself a black eye. Kurt felt a rush of gratitude towards the boys who had stuck up for him; in all their unique ways, they had managed to show that they really cared about him.

* * *

The dancing part of the wedding goes went without a hitch, and despite some painful rehearsals (Finn dropping Rachel, Mercedes accidentally letting go of Kurt as they spun down the aisle, and Sam just plain tripping over his own feet.) Kurt had to wince a bit at his dad's awkward dancing, but couldn't keep the gigantic grin off his face.

Just before Burt and Carole went up to have their first dance, Finn gestured for Artie to come over by him.

"So, is everyone ready for this?" he whispered to the other boy. Artie nodded in agreement.

"The band knows what's going on, and hopefully this time Sam and Puck will both move to the right at the same time and we won't have that awkward pile-up like last time." Finn grimaced at the memory and whispered a thanks to Artie.

Unbeknownst to Kurt, Finn had approached the other boys and asked if they would help him make up to Kurt for not confronting Karofsky. He had absolutely no idea what he was going to do, but he knew he wanted to do something and he would need help with it. Puck had offhandedly mentioned that he sing to Kurt; it made almost all the girls in Glee go out with him, so it should definitely warrant Kurt's forgiveness. Finn had latched onto the idea immediately, and started searching for a song. Artie had found him hunched over a computer in the library the next day, staring at the screen in complete confusion with a blank look on his face.

"How about 'Just the Way You Are' by Bruno Mars?" Artie suggests helpfully. Finn nods weakly, at this point willing to do just about anything. Artie realizes that this wedding is shaping up to be rather Bruno Mars themed, but he likes the singer so he's not complaining too much. Once Finn prints off the lyrics, they gather the other three and start working on harmonies and dance steps.

The performance at the wedding goes off perfectly, and Artie can honestly say that he hasn't seen Kurt this happy in a very long time. Dancing with his new family as well as his friends, his wide grin never left his face. The club members take turn singing songs, from past performance in Glee to new songs that they hadn't ever done before. Artie, Kurt, Mercedes, Tina, and Brittany perform 'U Can't Touch This,' much to the amusement of everyone else, and they all burst into a rousing rendition of 'Don't Stop Believing' at one point, which leaves Sam looking slightly confused. The wedding was quite the success, and everyone heads home that night, exhausted but exhilarated. The Glee clubbers crash at Kurt – and now Finn's – house for one loud, obnoxious group sleepover.

* * *

Needless to say, it came as quite a shock a couple of days later when Kurt walked into the choir room and announced that he's transferring schools. There's dead silence in the room after he walks out, and everyone sits in shock.

Mercedes looks like she's about to start crying any second, and Finn just looks confused and hurt. Mr. Schuester ends up letting them all go early because he knows that nothing will get accomplished now. Artie glances at Tina and she nods at him before they both head over to where Mercedes is. It takes some coaxing, but they get her to come with them to find Kurt before he leaves.

He's standing at his locker, slowly taking things out and putting them in a bag. They can't see his face because it's hidden by the locker door, but his posture is of someone doing something that they really don't want to. He notices them as they get closer, and he looks scared; almost as if he thinks they're going to be mad at him. Without a word, Tina and Mercedes embrace him from both sides, and Artie, not being able to reach up high enough, wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist and gave him a hug from there.

The four friends stand in that embrace for a few minutes before pulling away. Kurt is desperately trying to not let the tears spill out of his eyes, while both the girls are openly crying. Artie feels the familiar tightness around his eyes, but tries to fight it back.

"We're really going to miss you," Mercedes sniffs, rubbing her eyes.

"I'm going to miss you too," Kurt replies equally teary.

"You're going to be the one we blame," Artie spoke up. The other three looked at him in confusion. "For breaking up the Muppet Babies," he elaborated. "How are we gonna be badasses when you're not here?"

Kurt let out a watery chuckle. "You guys can be badass without me," he said. "Just minus the shiny pants."

The girls were smiling through their tears now, and Kurt had to grin at Artie who smiled back. He slowly closed his now-empty locker and slung his bag over his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around Mercedes as they turned to walk down the hall. Tina fell in behind Artie and started pushing his chair out of habit, alongside their other two friends. Artie reached out and grasped Kurt's hand, giving it a squeeze as the four headed down the hall together.

* * *

_There you have it! Not the best ending, but I wasn't sure how to end it. I'm going to combine the next two episodes into one chapter, because I have an idea on how to thread them together. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and subscribed. Feedback is much appreciated as always. _


	8. Phone Calls

**AN: Yes, I spent a study hall researching canaries. It was totally worth it. Warning; unnecessary Harry Potter references ahead. Episodes 9 and 10 are combined in this chapter. Enjoy.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything. If I did, YouTube would stop taking my videos down.**

* * *

Of all things that would happen because of his transfer to Dalton, Kurt was not expecting to receive a canary as a pet. He had stared at the bird in surprise before proceeding to embarrass himself in front of all the Warblers. He carried the cage back to his room after the meeting, an arm's length away from himself. Once he got up to his room, he cleared a space on his desk where he carefully placed the cage down. He crouched down to peer at the little yellow bird inside, who was currently perched on the small piece of wood, and cocking his head from side to side.

"Well, hi," Kurt said before realizing that the bird wasn't going to talk back to him. Feeling slightly foolish, he stood up and peered inside the bag that Blaine had given him. It contained the food for Pavarotti, and that was it. Starting to worry just a little, Kurt pawed through the bag looking for an instruction manual or something, but came up empty-handed.

He was beginning to panic when he realized that he was being ridiculous. It was a bird for crying out loud. Sure he had never had a pet before, but that didn't mean he couldn't learn how to take care of it. If he could learn the fourteen and a half minute long Celine Dion French medley in less than a week, he could figure out how to feed a bird. However, after staring at the stupid thing for another couple of minutes, he realized that he had no idea where to even begin. Acting on instinct, he picked up his phone and found the number of one of the smartest people he knew.

Artie picked up his phone after a couple of rings, sounding out of breath. "Hello?" he panted into the receiver.

"Just get back from a run?" Kurt asked jokingly. Artie scoffed at him.

"Nope, I was just doing some jumping jacks. Improving circulation and all that good stuff." Kurt chuckled at the joke as he sank onto his bed.

"So how is it at Dalton?" Artie ventured.

"It's…different," Kurt admitted. "Stricter, which is good in some senses. Kind of stifling though."

"I'm guessing you're not allowed to strut down the hall in full Lady Gaga apparel then," Artie replied sardonically.

"That would be about seventeen dress code violations, so…no I wouldn't be able to," Kurt mused.

Artie laughed before asking, "So did you need something, or did you just call to chat?"

"No, I called with a reason," Kurt sighed. "What do you know about birds?"

As it turned out, Artie didn't really know anything about birds, but he said that he'd be willing to look stuff up. "I always enjoy learning something new, and you never know when you might need that information."

Shaking his head at his friend's weirder habits, Kurt proceeded to explain the situation that he had been put into. Artie had to make a crack about how it really did sound like he was at Hogwarts; it was a boarding school, there was a class where he could possibly learn Latin, and he got a pet bird.

"It's just a little higher end than McKinley!" Kurt argued. "I'm not learning magic and Pavarotti is hardly a snowy owl."

"Still," Artie said. "It's better than here." And Kurt had to agree with that statement. "Given your track record with animals though, this could be potentially dangerous," Artie mused.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kurt demanded indignantly. "I've actually never had a pet before, so I don't know what you're talking about."

"Kurt," Artie began patiently. "You were the one that stuffed a rabbit in a shoebox and snuck it into a hospital. How do you think poor Whiskers felt about that?"

"I-wha- that was totally different!" Kurt spluttered. "I was eight, remember? And he survived the trip."

"Didn't he die two days later?" Artie asked him. "So, word of advice Kurt. I may not be an expert on animals, but stuffing them in boxes and bags won't do them any good. Just leave Parvati in his cage."

"Pavarotti," Kurt corrected automatically. "And I'm not planning on touching him if I don't have to."

After Artie assured his friend that no, canaries generally didn't carry diseases, he promised to look up some information and get back to him. He placed his phone down on his desk and booted up his laptop. As soon as Google popped up on his screen, he got to work.

"Keep the cage away from air conditioners and windows that get a lot of sun. Cover the cage at night, or as soon as the sun goes down. They need a decent sleep cycle so keeping them up late isn't good for them. You can give him some toys, like swings and bells. Make sure he always has fresh water. I'm assuming you already know about what to feed him, right?" There was silence on the other end of the line. "Kurt? Are you there?"

"Um," was Kurt's intelligent response. "Say…say that again but slower and let me write it down." Artie relayed the information again, slowly this time, and Kurt copied it all into a notebook.

"How did you find all of that?" he demanded after Artie finished.

"Google," was Artie's simple reply. "And strangely enough, Puck knew a lot about birds. Apparently his little sister has a pet canary as well."

"Why didn't I just try Google," Kurt muttered half to himself. "Well, thanks a lot Artie. This will seriously help me out. Tell Puck thanks as well."

"No problem," Artie replied cheerfully. "But you owe me now."

"Deal," Kurt said.

* * *

When Kurt agreed that he owed Artie a favor, he had hardly expected for the other boy to call him and start babbling about Brittany, Santa, chapstick, and Mercedes wanting a pony. He tried to interrupt him a couple of times, but Artie had obviously built up some steam and needed to release it somehow. Kurt waited a few minutes until Artie had slowed down a little before interjecting.

"Artie!" he cut across the other boy's monologue. "Slow down and start over." Artie took a deep breath before saying,

"Brittany still believes in Santa Clause and no one wanted to tell her the truth so we took her to a mall Santa where everyone sat on Santa's lap and Mercedes is probably still going to kill me for that and Sam asked for Chapstick and then Brittany asked Santa for me to be able to walk again and the idiot said yes and now I don't know what to do."

Kurt let it all sink in before replying, "You could just let Mercedes kill you and then you wouldn't have to worry about this whole ordeal."

"I considered that," Artie mused. "But that would probably make Brittany depressed."

"Probably," Kurt agreed. "So you called me to ask me if there was some possible way for me to give you the gift of walking again?"

"No," Artie said sighing deeply. "You're pretty good with the ridiculous plans. I thought you might have one for me."

"Artie," Kurt replied. "Have you not noticed by now that my plans tend to not work out?"

Eventually, after some hemming and hawing and random brainstorming, Kurt finally came up with the idea that Artie was confident would work.

"Get someone to dress up like Santa and tell her that he can't grant her wish. It might be best if she hears it from him."

* * *

The rest of the week passed without incident. Kurt was busy getting in his last-minute studying and getting ready for the holidays. The only contact he had with anyone from McKinley was Mr. Schuester when he came for advice about his Secret Santa. He had actually almost forgotten his conversation with Artie until the last day before break. He had just finished his last class of the day and was heading back to his room to get ready to head back to Lima when his phone buzzed in his pocket.

Pulling it out, he saw that he had a picture message from Mercedes. He hit the button to download it and set his phone down on his dresser as he packed his last few items. A couple of minutes later, he picked it up and pushed a button to light up the screen. The caption above the photo read "A Christmas Miracle" and he scrolled down, curious as to what it was.

It was a picture of some of the Glee clubbers standing around in the choir room. Kurt's brow furrowed as he examined the picture. They all seemed to be wearing matching outfits, but no one was even looking at the camera. He peered more carefully at it before gasping out loud. Standing around in a half-circle were Puck, Finn, Quinn, Brittany, and Santana. In the middle of them – _standing_ – was Artie.

All Kurt could do was stare at the picture in shock. As he looked closer, he realized that Artie had some sort of – well something – on him that was supporting him, as well as the crutches. He smiled at the photo and the gigantic, happy grin on his friend's face as he closed his phone and put it in his pocket again. A real Christmas miracle indeed.

* * *

_Cheesy ending, I know. But it was like that on the show as well. And now we get to the lovely hiatus. I'm going to do a proper Christmas one - because no way did Kurt actually stay at Dalton over Christmas - and then from there, I'll probably do some of the unrelated, slightly AU oneshots that don't really fit with the show's storyline. I have the ones from the poll left over, and if there's anything you want to see me do, just let me know. Thanks so much to everyone who's stuck with this story so far, and your feedback is much appreciated as always._


	9. Christmas

**AN: Obligatory Christmas fic. It's only Christmas Eve where I am, but I figured I'd post this now. Jumps between viewpoints and days. Random characters show up at points (ones that should have never left.) Lack of Artie/Kurt interaction, but mainly just focuses on them as individuals. Enjoy.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Classes at Dalton finished up the day before Christmas Eve, and the students didn't leave until the next day. Kurt was excited to get home again, and spending Christmas with his new family. He also wanted to see all his friends again, and not under the pressure of performing against them. He had loaded all his bags into his car the night before except for the one that held all his essentials. He ended up leaving right after lunch, bidding a goodbye to Blaine and the other boys who sat at his table. He wasn't looking forward to the long drive home, especially with the holiday traffic. He had made sure to make a playlist the night before so he wouldn't have to search the radio for something to listen to the entire ride home.

He made it home by about three in the afternoon, and was greeted by his father with a giant hug. He squeezed back just as tightly, breathing in the familiar and comforting smell of his father. For the first time in a long time, he felt relaxed and happy. Burt pulled away from the hug only to sling his arm around Kurt's shoulders as they headed towards the trunk of the car to get his bags out. While they did this, Kurt caught his father up on how things were going at school. Burt then traded stories of his and Carole's honeymoon ("No details please," Kurt insisted,) and the colossal disaster that was Finn attempting to mount light up figurines on the roof.

Laughing, the two Hummel males made their way into the house, pausing to slip their shoes off. Kurt barely had time to set his bags down before he was being tightly embraced by somebody. Carole had been in one of the back rooms, but came running when she heard Kurt was home. He squeezed her back tightly, relishing the feeling. It was so good to be home again.

Kurt took a couple of trips carrying his bags down to his room, wrinkling his nose as he did. In his absence, Finn had set up camp there, and he could tell that the jock was living there with all the dirty clothes, video game controllers, and sports equipment that was lying around. It also smelled slightly like dirty socks, which Kurt vowed revenge on Finn for. Instead of going back upstairs right away, he gathered all of Finn's items, dumped them on the cot that he was using as a bed, and grabbed a Febreeze can from the bathroom. Once he was satisfied that the room wasn't quite as smelly as it had been previously, he set to unpacking his bags.

He headed upstairs a little while later, once he had gotten everything sorted out. Burt and Carole were standing in the kitchen, talking quietly while Carole stirred something on the stove.

"That smells delicious," Kurt commented as he walked in. Both adults turned and smiled at him.

"Thank you," Carole replied. "Although I'm afraid it's not going to be appreciated by many people."

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked, his brow furrowed. "We all are. Where's Finn by the way?"

"He's got some Glee thing. Something about Mr. Schuester. I figured you would be involved too," Carole answered.

"Oh," Kurt said quietly. "Honestly, I didn't hear about anything they were planning, so I guess I'll be here." He tried to smile at his parents as he excused himself. He ended up wandering aimlessly in the direction of the living room. He supposed that he should have expected this. Dalton was his school now; not McKinley. He was part of the Warblers and not New Directions. Of course they would have planned stuff and figured that he wouldn't be there to be a part of it. The only thing he honestly regretted about leaving was not being able to be with all his friends. It was just something he was going to have to get used to, he thought to himself as he plopped on the television set. After flipping through the channels, he settled on the one that was showing Christmas movies. He settled himself back into the couch and absorbed himself in George Bailey's troubles.

* * *

Of all the things that could have happened this Christmas, this was the absolute last thing that Artie could have ever expected. After the unfortunate incident with the crutches that happened last year, combined with Ms. Pillsbury's words of his harsh reality, Artie had pretty much given up on ever walking again. He didn't like it by any means, but he had learned to accept and deal with it. When they found the ReWalk under Brittany's tree, he honestly thought it was a joke. He had heard of the machine before, but never in a million years expected to get one. He knew roughly how much one would cost, and he knew it would never even be an idea. To say he was surprised was an understatement.

Feeling himself move forward smoothly, while standing upright was a sensation that he had figured was something in the distant past. He had briefly felt it last year, when Tina helped him out, but it didn't last long and only made him feel worse about his condition. Using the ReWalk though, he felt more confident and happy than he had in a very long time.

His friends had all been extremely happy for him, and they spent a good deal of time in the choir room watching him try it out. Eventually, they realized how late it was getting and people starting trickling out and heading home. Brittany and Mercedes helped him get out of the device and he then transferred himself back into his chair. Puck offered to give him a lift home so he wouldn't have to drag the thing all the way back by himself. During the ride there, Puck was strangely quiet, the only noise coming from the radio that was playing Christmas songs.

When they got to the Abrams household, Puck helped Artie carry the machine into the house, along with the crutches. They bid each other a goodbye, and Puck headed back out to his truck, shoulders hunched against the cold. Artie maneuvered his chair into the living room, bringing the ReWalk with him, and then coming back for the crutches. His parents would be home soon, with his little sister in tow, and he wanted to surprise them.

When Cathy Abrams followed her husband into the living room later that night after her son called them in there, she was completely shocked at what happened. Artie had been sitting on the couch with a blanket covering his lap and a pair of forearm crutches propped up against the couch next to him. He started talking about Brittany and Santa Clause; something that Cathy had a hard time understanding still. She liked the girl that Artie was dating; there was just a little something…odd about the girl. Then Artie had pushed the blanket off his lap, picked up the crutches and _stood up._

He had some sort of device attached to his body that helped him to stand, and then he reached over and pushed a button and he _started walking. _Cathy felt herself begin to well up and she reached over to grasp her husband's hand. Artie looked up at his parents and grinned shyly. Cathy could even move, she was in so much shock. Here was her son, stuck in a chair for all his life, _finally _getting the opportunity he deserved.

Later, Artie would explain to his parent about the mysterious gift giver, and his sister would come in and practically tackle her brother in her excitement at seeing him stand up. His dad would take away the crutches and support him as his mother gave him his first proper hug in nine years. He would use the machine to navigate his way around the house, marveling at how strange everything looked from that height. He would stand in front of the mirror in his room and see himself standing upright. If he was careful, he could even balance without using the crutches, and without looking too carefully, he looked like just a normal kid, checking himself out in the mirror.

Rachel called him the next day, sounding slightly confused. Apparently Sue Sylvester had somehow found out her home phone number, and called her about spending time on Christmas Eve with Mr. Schuester. Artie could understand her confusion; he would have freaked out if Sue Sylvester had called him on his cell phone, let alone asking him to do something nice for Mr. Schue. He agreed to ask his parents if he could spend the evening at their Glee club coach's house and they readily agreed once he told them why he was doing it.

* * *

Kurt found himself sitting on the couch again after a delicious supper that night, only half paying attention to whatever movie was playing on the television this time. He was interrupted out of his reverie by his phone vibrating. He opened it to see a text from Finn.

_Dude ru home yt?_

Kurt typed back an affirmative, wincing at Finn's lack of spelling and grammar. A few minutes later he got a reply.

_Were all at mr. schus. u shuld com ovr here 2._

Kurt couldn't help but feel excited at the idea of being with all his friends and being able to be with the club again. He quickly typed back,

_Sure I'll come over. Give me the address._

As soon as he got the information from Finn, he got up, grabbed his coat and told his father where he was going. He missed the secret smile that Burt and Carole shared behind his back before his father told him to have fun and make sure Finn didn't drink too much eggnog.

"You don't want to see him after he's had too much sugar," Carole commented with a wry grin. Kurt bid them both goodbyes, before heading out to his car. During the drive over, Kurt felt inexplicably nervous. He hadn't really seen anyone since Sectionals, and that was hardly the time for just catching up (although he and Rachel had done just that.) He wasn't completely sure what they were doing at Mr. Schuester's but with his friends, he figured it could be just about anything.

His phone vibrated again as he was pulling into the parking lot outside of where Mr. Schuester's apartment was. After parking, he looked at the new text message that he had received.

_Txt me wen u get ther. i want it 2 b a supriz._

Kurt hit reply and waited till he was right outside of Mr. Schue's door before pressing send. A couple minutes later, he heard the thumping of feet, and the door was flung open by Finn.

"Come in quick," he whispered. "You're the surprise; no one else knows that you're coming."

Kurt smiled as he walked in and placed his coat on top of the pile on a nearby chair. He followed Finn on tiptoe into the living room.

"Hey everybody, look who showed up!" Finn exclaimed, stepping aside to reveal him. There was a beat of silence before Mercedes shrieked,

"Kurt!" and tackled him with a bone-crushing hug. Everyone else followed suit, either hugging him or patting him on the back. The only people who didn't get up to greet him were Lauren, who just gave him a wave from where she was sitting, and Artie and Tina who were sitting on one of the couches. Mercedes ended up dragging him over to them where Tina stood up to give him a fierce hug. After breaking apart from her, Kurt leaned down to give Artie a hug as well.

"Good to see you again," Artie said, smiling easily up at him.

"Oh my God Artie," Kurt said. "I can't believe it!"

"I sent him a picture of you using the ReWalk," Mercedes said, seeing the confused look on Artie's face.

"It's pretty cool, huh?"

"You have to show me some time over break," Kurt said emphatically. Mercedes then pulled him down to sit between her and Tina. Everyone settled back into their seats, and Rachel piped up,

"We should sing carols!"

Everyone murmured their agreement, and they started tossing out ideas. Just then, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Mike shouted up, running for the door.

"Um, what?" Puck asked. Everyone glanced around, confused as well.

"Who could that possibly be?" Mr. Schuester asked, looking around. "Everyone is here." Mike entered the room again, looking extremely excited.

"Finn, you ruined everything, but I have a surprise as well." He jumped aside to show Matt Rutherford standing sheepishly behind him.

There was another general clamor as everyone jumped up to greet Matt as well. This time, the four remained on the couch, as well as Lauren and Sam. The other girl looked bored with the proceedings, while Sam just looked confused. Eventually everyone calmed down, and Matt took a seat next to Mike and Santana.

"At this point everyone who's ever been in the club is going to show up at one point, so I really don't see what you're so excited about," Lauren commented dryly. There were a few chuckles at that, before Rachel reminded them that they were trying to find a song to sing. The suggestions started up again, with Puck loudly insisting that they sing a Hanukkah song and Brittany asking if they could do the one about the hippopotamus. Kurt sank back into the couch, squished between his closest three friends, just soaking in the moment. He had honestly missed his friends, and this was the perfect reunion.

Whether it was Matt confusedly asking why Lauren Zizes and Sue Sylvester were there, or Rachel agreeing that Hanukkah songs were better than Christmas songs, or Finn asking where the eggnog was, it was comfortable and familiar. Eventually they all agreed on "Jingle Bells" and they launched into the song rather enthusiastically. Kurt couldn't keep the grin off his face as the four on the couch rocked back and forth together, giggling between verses. This was definitely the best Christmas ever.

* * *

_And there you have it. Cheesy ending and all. I had to work Matt in there somehow, and so I did. I hope you enjoyed it and I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Feedback is much appreciated as always. After this, I'll just do a bunch of unrelated one-shots as promised._


	10. Keeping In Touch

**AN: I am so terribly sorry that I haven't updated this. I know I promised to over the hiatus and it didn't happen. Basically, I got a job so yay money, boo no free time. Plus, this is so dang hard to write when Kurt isn't there. He needs to get his butt back to McKinley. Anyways, I've combined three episodes in this chapter and a majority of it is phone conversations for obvious reasons. If anyone is still following this fic, thank you and enjoy.**

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING.**

* * *

There had been multiple times since his transfer that Kurt wished he had been able to stay at McKinley, and this was definitely one of them. Watching the entire Glee club (sans the Cheerios) in full football gear huddle together made him almost want to pull his old jersey on and join them. Instead he had to contend with sitting in the stands and watching them.

This proved to be quite a painful decision. While by no means an expert when it came to football, Kurt had gleaned some knowledge of the game during his time period playing for the team last year, and he knew that they didn't have much of a chance. Or any chance at all, for that matter. The boys knew what they were doing, and he sure didn't want to be the guy that Lauren would be going up against, but they were going to be lucky if they made it out alive, let alone win.

Kurt wasn't exactly sure what happened between the first and second halves, but suddenly the guys on the team were dancing with them, and then playing again. He did have to admit that it was incredibly strange to see Azimio, Karofsky, and the rest of them singing and dancing around.

After the game ended, the four of them hung around in the stands, waiting for the crowd to dwindle down, so they could meet up with Finn. The girls were the first ones out of the locker room, closely followed by Artie, who was being pushed by Puck. Kurt bounded down the bleachers to greet them. The girls greeted him with hugs and squeals. (Lauren settled for a high five).

"You guys were amazing!" Kurt exclaimed as he accepted the fist bump from Puck.

"Well yeah," Artie replied cheekily, causing Kurt to swat at him before leaning down to give his friend a hug as well.

"Dancing during a football game though? Wonder where you got that idea from," Kurt said jokingly. Mercedes and Tina giggled.

"We were taking lessons from the master," Mercedes said. Kurt preened for a moment, waggling his hand back and forth in a familiar fashion.

"A chorus of _Single Ladies_ would have made a bigger impression than 'brains' though," he said mock seriously.

At this point, the rest of the guys made their way out of the locker room. Finn gave out a yell when he saw Kurt, and the next thing he knew, the counter-tenor was buried under a pile of his friends. The ones who were already standing there happily joined in on the group hug.

"Oof," came the muffled reply from Kurt somewhere underneath the human pile that was New Directions. Laughing, the kids pulled themselves off their friend and Kurt found himself getting back pounds from Mike and Sam.

"Finn, you saw me like two hours ago," Kurt said, with a futile attempt at fixing his now-ruffled hair. "What gives?"

"I was feeling the love dude," Finn replied. "We won!" And with that, the group broke into raucous cheers. Kurt couldn't help but laugh along with his friends, the excitement infectious.

"You know what's kind of lame though?" Puck interrupted. "We have not won a single game unless we've had one of these dorks on the team." With that he pointed at both Artie and Kurt.

"Dorks?" Artie asked, pretending to look offended.

"You're seriously protesting that?" Mercedes asked him.

"Well I am," Kurt interjected. "Although Puckerman has a point. You guys suck. Seriously." This raised a protest from the three boys on the team while Sam stared at Kurt in confusion.

"You were on the football team?"

"Last year. Only one game though," Kurt replied with a flip of his hand. "Helped them get their only win of the year."

"With Beyonce," Artie grinned reaching up to high five Kurt. Sam's expression of confusion only deepened. "I'll show you the video sometime."

"You have that on video?" Mercedes asked.

"I have lots of stuff on video," Artie replied with a grin. "You know, all our performances at competition, us goofing around in the choir room, Kurt's performance of Pink Houses –"

"WHAT?" Kurt all but shrieked. "No, no no no no. I don't know how you have that, but you are going to delete it!"

"Yeah right," Artie scoffed. "That's pure blackmail material."

"How do you have that?" Mercedes demanded. "And when can I watch it?"

Ignoring Kurt's spluttering protests, he gestured to Lauren who was standing behind them. "Lauren had the choir room rigged that week, remember? I'm in the AV club with her; I've got access to all of that stuff. And Kurt won't be there to stop me from showing everyone now."

At this point, Burt and Carole had made their way down to the rest of them, with Blaine trailing awkwardly behind them and Burt managed to hold Kurt back before he tackled Artie.

* * *

Artie was doing his homework when his phone vibrated on the desk next to him. Flipping it open, he answered,

"Who dis be?"

"You have caller ID, don't you," came Kurt's dry reply from the other end of the line.

"Why hello to you to Kurt," Artie answered him, grinning. "To what may I owe this pleasure?"

"What are you planning on doing on Valentine's Day?"

Brow furrowed, Artie answered, "Well Brittany and I were going to see a movie–"

"No, you're coming to Breadstix," Kurt interrupted him.

"…Okay. Why am I going to Breadstix?"

"The Warblers are performing there," Kurt informed him. "So you're all coming to support me. While on the topic, run by me who's dating who. I honestly can't keep track anymore and I'm not going anywhere near Finn if I can help it."

"Well," Artie started. "It's me and Britt and then Mike and Tina. That's about all that's remained the same." Kurt let out a deep, frustrated sigh.

"Finn and Quinn both have mono so neither of them can come and we're pretty sure that they made out at one point. So that means Sam, Rachel, Mercedes, and Santana are flying solo."

"Ignoring the idiot that is my stepbrother right now. Continue please. What about Puck?"

"He's with Lauren."

"Lauren?"

"Yes."

"_Zizes_?"

"We were just as confused as you are."

There was a moment of silence on Kurt's end of the line before he exclaimed, "I leave for a couple months and everyone goes insane!"

"Pretty much," Artie replied cheerfully. "So what about you? I know you hate the holiday with a burning passion, but do you have a hot date?"

"No," grumbled Kurt. "I don't want one anyways."

Artie furrowed his brow. "What about that Blaine guy that you're always hanging out with nowadays?"

"We're strictly in the friends zone," Kurt grumped. "It's a long story. Just another reason for me to hate this stupid holiday."

"One day Kurt," Artie teased. "One day you will take back every word you've said about Valentine's Day, and I will never let you forget it."

"Over my dead body," Kurt shot back, smiling slightly. Even though Artie had actually experienced romance, he still held the same view of the holiday as Kurt, although he wasn't quite as bitter about it now.

"So you'll be there?" Kurt pressed.

"Yeah, I'm sure she won't mind," Artie agreed. "Besides, their food is pretty good. And free entertainment? Hell yeah!"

Kurt had to laugh at his friend's enthusiasm. "Just save me a breadstick, will you?"

"I will," Artie promised. "I can't say anything on Brittany's behalf. I swear, for someone so dang skinny, she can eat a ridiculous amount of food."

"If only we could all be that lucky," Kurt sighed. "Are you doing anything else for her?"

"Well, I sang to her in Glee club, and I'm going to get her flowers tomorrow morning, and I've bought her a necklace."

"Oooh, pulling out all the stops huh?" Kurt replied. "Nicely done."

"Thanks," Artie smiled. "I got you something special too."

Kurt snorted into the phone. "I'm touched Artie. I didn't know I meant so much to you. What is it?"

Artie grinned broadly at his friend's response. "You'll have to show up to find out. Actually…I have to show up to give it to you. Never mind then."

Kurt just laughed and bid Artie goodbye. He then started down his list of contacts to see who was next to invite.

Everyone ended up meeting at Breadstix around seven that following evening, and seated themselves at tables near one another. The Warblers were grouped together, recognizable by their trademark jackets. As they gathered up on the makeshift stage, Kurt separated himself from the group to introduce them. The performance was a collection of classic love songs, (most a bit more classic than the ones that they had sang during Glee club, Artie had to admit.) Afterwards, the Warblers and the New Directions members mingled, introducing themselves and sharing some of the restaurants iconic breadsticks.

Kurt made the rounds, catching up with all his old friends, spending the most time at the table with Mercedes and Rachel. As he made his way over to where Artie and Brittany were, the blonde girl jumped up and flung herself at Kurt.

"Hi Brittany," he gasped, caught a little off guard at her enthusiastic greeting.

"Hi!" she exclaimed. "Yay, you're not dead!" Kurt gave Artie a questioning look over her shoulder, but Artie just shrugged in response. He hadn't heard her theory on that one, (although she had told him an interesting one that involved the school cafeteria meat and aliens.)

"So where's my present?" Kurt asked playfully, sitting down across the table from Artie. In response, Artie pushed a wrapped package across the table at him.

"I saw this in the store the other day and I thought of you," Artie said with a grin. Kurt tore off the paper and pulled out a book.

"Canaries (A Complete Pet Owner's Manual)," he read. "Seriously?" he looked up at Artie who was now laughing.

"Don't want the same thing that happened to Whiskers to happen to this one,"

"I'm _not_ going to kill Pavarotti," Kurt said with a sniff. "Your lack of faith in me is astounding."

"You have a bird?" Brittany piped up. "Did he teach you how to fly yet?" Both boys gave her a confused stare before Kurt leaned over to give her a hug.

"Oh Britt, I've missed you."

* * *

"So I'm in a band."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, Sam started up a tribute band."

"A tribute to whom?"

"Justin Bieber."

"…"

"Kurt? Are you still there?"

* * *

_Feedback is much appreciated as always. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I promise to update much sooner next time._


	11. Support

**My sincerest apologies once again for the long delay. My only excuse is pure laziness. However, I am determined to finish this story before summer is done, and thanks to those of you who have continued to stick with this story.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Kurt avoided looking at Rachel, mainly because her dress was burning his eyes. He watched as his friends got progressively more drunk and crazier as the night continued. He had to disentangle himself from Puck at least four times, because apparently the Mohawked boy became rather clingy and cuddly while drunk, and kept giving Kurt bone crushing hugs. He was also praying that Brittany didn't take off any more clothes than she already had.

After awhile and several failed attempts to hold a steady conversation with Blaine, who was more concerned with dancing like a lunatic, Kurt found himself sitting on a couch that Tina wasn't bouncing on, just watching his friends. He figured at this point he wasn't going to have to impress Blaine and may as well just have a drink but kept flashing back to that morning last year when he upchucked all over Ms. Pilsbury. However, at that moment, Artie rolled up to him – or more like into him.

"Oof," Kurt grunted as the wheelchair hit his shins.

"Soorrrry," Artie slurred, giggling slightly. "Didn't see you there." He wasn't wearing his glasses and Kurt was pretty sure that it was Brittany's shirt that he was wearing.

"Has anyone ever told you not to drink and drive?" Kurt asked jokingly as Artie attempted to straighten himself out.

"I'm not drunk," Artie protested as he tried to playfully smack Kurt on the arm but missed and hit the couch instead.

"Of course not," Kurt said with amusement as Artie stared in confusion at the couch cushion that was not Kurt's arm.

"But you are," Artie smiled up at him. "You threw up at school."

"That was last year," Kurt reminded him patiently. "Not now."

Artie had turned his attention elsewhere though and was now attempting to spin himself in circles. He kept bumping into the couch though which was inhibiting his circle. Kurt just shook his head in amusement as he watched.

"So how are things going with Brittany?" Kurt asked, trying to direct his friend's attention back and away from his circling.

"She's awesome!" Artie perked up, finally slowing to a halt. "I love her so much. She's so smart and pretty and nice and awesome. And I love playing with her hair. It's so purple and awesome!"

"Wait, Brittany doesn't have purple hair," Kurt interrupted him, but Artie had regained control of his chair and sailed off across the room in a rather lopsided path, bumping into Finn and Mercedes as he went. Kurt was left puzzling over what his friend said.

* * *

"Do you think I'm sexy?" Kurt asked plaintively.

"I'm sorry?" Artie replied. That had not been what he was expecting when he saw that his friend was calling.

"I…oh forget it," Kurt said, sounding frustrated.

"Did…someone say something to you?" Artie ventured.

"It's kind of a long story," Kurt answered, slumping down on his bed and flopped back so that he was staring at the ceiling. "I don't really want to talk about it."

"Then why did you call me?" Artie asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"You're usually pretty good with advice and stuff," Kurt said. "Or at least making something up to make me feel better."

Artie laughed at that. "I am pretty good in that department," he mock mused. "Honestly though, I don't think I'm the best person to be asking that question. No offence or anything but you're not really my type. Although if you're wearing those Cheerios pants…we may be able to talk."

"Artie!" Kurt squawked as his friend cracked up on the other line. "I'm being serious here!"

"So am I," Artie managed between laughs. Kurt muttered something indistinctly on the other line that may have been an insult.

"In all seriousness though," Artie said, collecting himself. "What's this about?"

"Well, it's kind of a long story, but the topic of sex came up and quite frankly that topic makes me a little uncomfortable. And I kind of realized that I have no sex appeal. Like, at all," Kurt explained.

"It makes you uncomfortable?" Artie asked.

"Yes," Kurt sighed. "I know that's weird but…it does. So I don't really know how to act sexy because it makes me feel even more uncomfortable."

"Well, from a completely unbiased point of view, you aren't bad looking if that's what you're getting at," Artie assured him. "I don't know what to tell you about the sex thing though. I'm hardly sexy, but I just use my adorable nature to enamor people."

Kurt snorted into the phone. "I don't know how you do it Artie, but somehow you managed to cheer me up. And you know, if you ditched the sweater vests…" His voice trailed off suggestively. Artie laughed on the other line and shook his head.

"Anything to get me to change my wardrobe, eh?" The two boys laughed together and the conversation switched to their various schools and Glee clubs. Once he hung up the phone though, Artie thought over the previous conversation. It wasn't like Kurt to be so unsure about himself, although he honestly couldn't remember talking about sex with the other boy. And though his crush on Finn the previous year had been pretty obvious, the most that Kurt had expressed had been a want to sing ballads and hold hands. An idea was forming in Artie's mind though; a way to make his friend feel better about his predicament, and to show him that he could be sexy. Pulling his laptop towards, he started to search through his files.

A couple hours later, he had his completed masterpiece. Using clips from their more risqué performances, including "Push It" and "Toxic," as well as some Cheerio performance like "4 Minutes," and even Kurt's own performance of "Single Ladies," he had compiled a video shamelessly entitled "Kurt Hummel Being Sexy." Grinning, he uploaded it to a video sharing website that wasn't quite as well-known as YouTube and once it was done, sent the link to Kurt in an e-mail.

Kurt would later call him up and admonish him for it, saying that Artie shouldn't have taken him so seriously, and threaten to do him serious harm if anyone else ever saw it. Secretly though, the video had made his night. Although it was a bit embarrassing at first, he was a little proud of himself. He had never noticed it before – mostly because he never had been deliberately been trying to be _sexy_. The word felt foreign when applying it to himself, but after watching the video he definitely felt better about himself.

* * *

The boys' phone calls became less frequent as Regionals drew closer. Needless to say, Artie was a little surprised when Kurt called him one Saturday afternoon, sounding as though he had been crying.

"Kurt? What's wrong?" he asked in concern.

Kurt sniffed a few times before answering. "It's Pavarotti. He…he died." This was followed by a rather unelegant hiccup.

"Oh no," Artie murmured. "Do you want me to come over?"

"Could you?" Kurt asked meekly. It took only ten minutes for Artie's dad to drive him over to the new residence that was being occupied by the Hummels and Hudsons. Kurt was sitting at the kitchen table when Artie got in there, looking composed – but only just.

Kurt had brought the cage down with him, and the little yellow bird was huddled at the bottom, clearly dead. Both boys stared at the bird for a few minutes without talking. Artie glanced up at the other boy, studying his face carefully. He had known Kurt long enough to be able to read his emotions quite well. While outwardly, the boy looked calm enough, Artie could tell that underneath, he was hiding his true emotions.

"You know," Kurt finally said breaking the silence. "I know I shouldn't be this upset about this. It's just a bird. I didn't even have him that long. It's just…death seems to happen a lot around me. The situation with my dad definitely reminded me of that. It's scary because it can happen when you're least expecting it."

Artie placed his hand over Kurt's on the table, and the other boy rotated his so that their hands were clasped. Judging by how hard Kurt was squeezing his hand, this death was affecting him more than he was letting on. Kurt took a shuddering breath and tried to collect himself.

"Are you going to bury him?" Artie asked quietly. Kurt nodded his agreement.

"I figured I'd make him a fabulous casket so he can go off in style." Artie cracked a tiny smile at that. Although he was down, Kurt Hummel was not defeated. He would rise above, just like he had in the past.

"So if I ever have a pet," Artie ventured carefully. "I know not to leave it with you when I go on vacation?"

Kurt let out a watery chuckle and shook his head. "No, that probably wouldn't be a very good idea," he said wryly.

"What are you going to tell the Warblers?" Artie asked.

"I have no idea," Kurt said, going a little pale. "This bird was pretty special to them; I'm not sure how this is going to go over."

"I'm sure there's a Beatles song for it somewhere," Artie said cheerfully.

* * *

The lobby at Regionals was packed with people; performers in various outfits, proud parents trying to take pictures of their kids, and other people who were there just to watch the performances. In a corner off to the side, Artie and Kurt met up hurriedly, both holding bulging bags. The boys had conferred earlier in the week and agreed to help the other's team out. Both had props that the other would help hand out to the audience.

"Candles?" Artie said peering into the bag. "Let me guess, you're doing a song about candles."

"Lucky guess," Kurt grinned. He glanced into the bag that Artie had handed him. "And you're doing a song about… foam fingers?"

"Not quite," Artie replied. "But you'll get it once you hear the song."

"I suppose so," Kurt mused. "So, how do I look?" He struck a dramatic pose for Artie. The other boy laughed and said,

"Spectacular." Kurt preened at the compliment, smiling at his friend. "What about me?" Artie asked, making a face back. Kurt reached down and finger-combed some of Artie's hair to the side.

"Dashing," was his critical reply. The two boys grinned at each other when a voice came over the loudspeaker, directing teams to their greenrooms. The two wished each other luck, and dashed off to their respective clubs to get ready for the competition.

* * *

_Reviews are much appreciated as always._


	12. Home

**Well at least this time it wasn't a three month wait. I promise I will get the last chapter up before the 26th, mainly because that's when I leave for college and I most likely won't have time to write fic during that first month. I hope you enjoy this chapter though.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything.**

* * *

It was a little strange being back in McKinley. It felt as though he had been gone for ages, instead of a couple of months. It was slightly different, walking through the halls at night, but it was still the same McKinley that he remembered. He knew that while Karofsky had been tormenting him, the place had an unwelcome – even foreboding feel to it. However, despite all that, despite his bad experiences with the bully, he still felt a wave of nostalgia as he walked the halls. He had made good memories there, with his friends, with the Glee club. Whether it be their failed plan to be badasses by performing in the library, or the corridor where the entire club stood up to Karofsky and Azimio – Finn in full Gaga gear.

Brittany and Artie passed them on their way to the auditorium, encouraging the boys to join them. Even though it was a little strange to see the blonde behind him instead of Tina, it sent another wave of nostalgia crashing over him. The Warblers were nice and all, but they weren't the same. His friends in New Directions may be strange and at times quite annoying, but they were still his friends.

Kurt wasn't exactly sure why Mr. Ryerson, Azimio, Jacob and Becky were there; none had particularly expressed an interest in the arts before (except for Mr. Ryerson, but he was supposed to be banned from the school.) He watched in pain as Tina was booed off, applauded after Mike's performance, and was a little confused as to why Ms. Holiday was performing. The rest of the club joined them as they watched Mercedes brought down the house.

After the performance was done, everyone gathered in the choir room to help put the props away and clean up. Kurt made sure to give both girls big hugs in congratulations and whispered to Tina that she was amazing and should just ignore what the others had done during her performance. He was standing off to the side, just watching the pandemonium with a slight smile on his face when he felt something bump his legs.

"Well hey there stranger," Artie grinned up at him.

"Hi," Kurt greeted him with an equally big smile. "How's it going?"

"You know, being underappreciated as always. Nothing new here."

Kurt frowned in confusion, so Artie quickly filled him in on the money issue that their other club was having.

"So basically, you got money from six people?" Kurt inquired.

"Yeah, so we can pay for half a hotel room," Artie sighed.

"Why didn't you perform?" Kurt asked. "I think you may have been a bit appreciated then."

"I don't know." Artie said after a moment's pause. "Mr. Schue didn't ask me if I wanted to, and I just never volunteered."

"You should really speak up for yourself more," Kurt said unexpectedly. "You're really talented and you almost never get to show it off."

"Well I'm hardly lead material, now am I?" Artie said sardonically. "I think that was pretty much evident ever since I crashed into that wall during 'Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat."

"Eh, that song sucked no matter what," Kurt said dismissively. "Your voice is good Artie; you should showcase it whenever possible. This was the perfect opportunity."

"Oh, well thanks," Artie said, slightly surprised at the determination in his friends voice. "I guess I will next time then."

"You'd better," Kurt said seriously, looking him square in the eyes.

* * *

Mercedes had been acting strangely all day long; she was checking her phone more often than usual, giggling to herself, and generally not paying attention to what was going on around her. She feigned innocence whenever someone would ask her what was up, although nobody was actually buying the act. She had always been a terrible liar, and they were just impressed that whatever she knew had been told to everyone in the school yet.

Eventually she told everyone that they needed to meet on the front stairs during lunch if they wanted a surprise. At quarter to noon, most of the Glee club members had gathered there, taking amongst themselves, wondering what Mercedes was hiding. Artie hadn't been really paying attention to everyone else's conversations so it came as a slight shock when he heard a very familiar voice suddenly shouting out,

"Kurt Hummel is back at McKinley!"

Artie glanced up to see his friend standing at the top of the stairs, arms outstretched to the skies, topped off with a rather fabulous hat. As Kurt bounded down towards his friends, Artie couldn't help the gigantic grin from crossing his face as he joined the rest of the club in greeting the countertenor.

Later in Glee, Mr. Schuester made a special announcement welcoming Kurt officially back into the club. As everyone applauded, Kurt piped up.

"Mr. Schue, if I may? I was wondering if I could do a song as a representation of my return to the school and the club."

"Sure, take it away Kurt," Mr. Schuester said cheerfully, clapping Kurt on the back and sat down. Kurt whispered the name of the song to the band and stood facing everybody. He cocked a slight pose as the music started, and Artie had to grin because it was just so _Kurt. _The song started, and Artie vaguely recognized it as a Barbra Streisand tune. He knew that under normal circumstances Rachel would have pitched a fit at someone other than her singing Barbra, but the petite girl was smiling as their friend belted out the song perfectly, letting them know how happy he was to be back home.

A couple of days later, Artie and Kurt were hanging out in the choir room during a free period. They had caught Kurt up on what he had missed during the recent weeks and he had made it his personal mission to get Rachel to drop the idea of a nose job.

"I need a big way to get her attention," Kurt was saying to Artie. "Some ironclad way of convincing her that she'd regret it. I've thought of using Barbra as an inspiration but I don't know where to go with it. Maybe a PowerPoint?"

"Too subtle," Artie disagreed. "This is Rachel we're talking about. We need something big and grand, preferably where she's the center of attention."

"Good point," Kurt mused. "Maybe we do an epic mash up of all of Barbra's greatest hits?"

"Perhaps," Artie said. "But just singing to her in here wouldn't be that big of a deal. We do that all the time. We need something bigger than that."

"The auditorium?" Kurt suggested. "Being on stage and all that – it could symbolize her dreams of stardom and performing and how physical appearance shouldn't matter."

"Wait a second," Artie said, holding up a finger. The idea of dreams – and the struggles that people had to overcome because of them – was giving him an idea. He was having a flashback to the year before when he had been thinking about his own dreams. While that situation hadn't ended well, he remembered a little fantasy he had harbored. Something that he had always wanted to do, ever since he saw one on the internet. It wouldn't be quite the same as how he imagined it, but the general idea would work.

"What about a flash mob?" Artie finally said. Kurt's eyes lit up at the idea.

"That would be amazing!" he exclaimed. "It's loud, will totally get her attention, and would be so much fun." He whipped out his cell phone and started texting someone. Artie leaned over to try and see who it was but Kurt had already finished the text and closed the phone before Artie could see.

"I have someone I'm working on with this," he explained when he saw Artie's questioning glance. "He'll be here in a moment." Artie nodded and pulled out his laptop.

"Let's figure out music then." Artie pulled up YouTube and typed in her name. The first thing that popped up was the song by Duck Sauce. Both boys looked at the screen then turned to look at one another.

"That is literally the perfect song for a flash mob," Kurt mused. Artie nodded in agreement.

"It's simple yet catchy. And it completely reinforces the theme of this project – Barbra herself."

Just then, Puck strolled into the choir room. "'Sup boys? I hear you've got a plan." Artie frowned in confusion at the Mohawked boy.

"You and _Puck _are working together?" he asked Kurt. Artie had honestly thought that it would have been Finn, seeing as how he and Rachel had such a history together.

"Yes, he has decided that he's as against Rachel getting a nose job as I am, so we decided to join forces," Kurt explained.

"So what are we doing?" Puck asked.

"Flash mob," came Kurt's reply as he pulled Artie's computer onto his lap and started searching for a version of the song that didn't have people talking in it.

"Sweet," Puck said. "Can we do a song by ACDC?"

"No," both boys said without looking up.

* * *

When Artie heard the rumors about Sam hooking up with various people, he didn't believe them for a second. He hadn't known Sam for very long, but the boy was extremely nice and not the type to cheat at all. He had known Kurt for much longer and knew that there had to be something else going on. Kurt was a terrible liar for one thing, and he wouldn't be able to blow it off the way he was if it were actually happening.

So whenever the topic was breached, he would usually make some sort of sarcastic comment which unfortunately the rest of the club seemed to take seriously. He found it rather hypocritical that they were all concerned with the idea of Kurt cheating, while most of them had done it at one point or another.

Speaking of cheating, he had his own issues to worry about. Brittany had been saying things lately that had him worried. He knew obviously – thanks to a very interesting phone conversation the previous year – that she and Santana had some sort of sexual past. However, he had assumed that since she was dating him that had ended. They had even had a discussion about cheating when Tina had raised concerns about Brittany and Mike hooking up. He didn't want to be suspicious – he wanted to be able to trust her.

A couple days later, after he confronted Brittany, he found Kurt in the library, standing in one of the aisles, lips pursed as he searched for a book. Artie rolled up to him and poked him in the side. Kurt mock glared at him before poking him back in the shoulder. Artie grinned and followed Kurt over to a table. The other boy had hardly settled down in a chair before the librarian had hustled over to them making a shushing noise and whispering,

"No singing in the library." They waited until she was out of earshot before breaking into silent giggles.

"Over a year later and she still doesn't trust us," Kurt grinned.

"Psh, we rocked her stockings off," Artie shot back. His face grew serious as he gave Kurt a meaningful glance. Kurt just rolled his eyes and started looking through his book.

"So," Artie drawled. "What exactly is going on with you and Sam?"

"I'm not hooking up with him," Kurt muttered without looking up.

"I know," Artie said simply. Kurt looked up at him in surprise. "I know it's not something you would do. However, I do know that something else is up. Spill."

"No," Kurt answered simply. "It's not your business and technically it's not mine either."

"Fair enough," Artie sighed. "It's nothing illegal is it?" Kurt gave him such a look that Artie threw up his hands in protest. "Okay, not illegal."

Kurt shook his head and decided to change the subject. "So, how are things with you and Brittany?" he asked tentatively. He didn't miss Artie's expression darkening before the other boy responded,

"It's kind of complicated." Kurt studied his friend's face until Artie spoke up again. "I said something…really rude to her so she's mad at me."

"That doesn't seem like enough to get you guys in the position you are now," Kurt said carefully. Artie looked him straight on and Kurt could tell that there was more to the story.

"Something else happened didn't it?" he asked. "Something you're not telling me?"

"Maybe," Artie replied. "But it's not really your business and technically it's not mine to tell." Kurt winced slightly as his words were thrown back at him but he could tell that something had happened that had really shaken Artie. His friend was usually pretty good at hiding his emotions; that made it kind of hard to tell what he was really feeling. The last time Artie was acting like this was when Tina had cheated on him then dumped him for Mike.

"Well in that case," Kurt said, deciding that the conversation would have to be put on hold since neither boy was willing to divulge what was really bothering them. "Want to help me with this paper for AP English?"

"Sure," Artie smiled, grateful that the conversation topic had changed to something more innocent.

* * *

_Reviews are much appreciated as usual._


	13. A Great Year

**Well, after being inspired by a certain song that was released recently, I have finally finished this story. I've enjoyed writing this and it's always fun to look at these episodes from a viewpoint of how Artie and Kurt could have interacted in them, and I've loved expanding their friendship. I hope you enjoy this last installment.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Kurt really hated being left out of the loop.

It was one thing when he was at Dalton and missed out on everything that had happened in his absence. Although he would never admit it, he wished he could have been there through everything – from zombies to Justin Bieber. Even though he was back and had gotten into the swing of things easily, he still felt like he was missing out on stuff. Little inside jokes that everyone got but him. Friendships and relationships that had formed and fallen apart over the past couple of months. He felt as though he barely had a grasp on what was going on. He didn't even know what was going on with his best friends. It was almost as if a rift had sprung up between them.

He had honestly been a little hurt when Artie refused to tell him what was going on. The thing with Sam wasn't his secret to tell; it wasn't like it was something bad was happening in his own life. He had promised the other boy that he wouldn't tell anybody about his family problems. If it had been a problem that Kurt was having in his own life, he wouldn't have hesitated to tell Artie. The two had grown closer over the year, but their separation had taken a slight toll.

Needless to say, he was just as surprised as the rest of the class when Artie rolled into their Culinary Arts class one day and started singing to Brittany. Kurt still had no idea what had happened between the two, but from what he gathered from Artie's speech was that the other boy had another issue of word vomit.

Kurt caught up with Artie when the bell rang a few minutes after he left the classroom, his song having not done the trick. The other boy was dejectedly putting his books back in his locker, looking extremely depressed.

"You know," Kurt drawled, leaning against the lockers. "If that song had been directed at me, I would have definitely said yes."

The smallest hint of a smile crossed Artie's face. "Well I'll keep that in mind for next year," he said jokingly. To Kurt's relief, the other boy's mood seemed to be lifting dramatically.

Prom was supposed to be a joyous event, full of dancing and fun with friends. It was belting out really bad songs that everyone would sing along to, and for once the entire school was getting along. It was not supposed to be locked in the cheerleading coach's office, being tortured while your friends were out celebrating. It was not supposed to be having the school bond together to humiliate you in one of the most degrading ways possible.

Artie could not believe his bad luck. He had never had to deal with Coach Sylvester one on one before and quite frankly, he was terrified. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he swore that he was going to kill Puck if he ever got out of this. Scarily though, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to.

Kurt was frozen with disbelief as he heard his name leave Figgins' lips. He could feel the stares of everyone in the gym and they weren't friendly. He felt as though everyone's hate was being pressed on him; how much they wanted him gone. Choking back tears, he started running away from the glares and mocking faces that seemed to surround him.

Despite one small breather when Coach Sylvester went to break up a fight, (that Artie would later learn was between Finn and Jesse, shockingly enough) the next couple of hours were torturous. It wasn't just that he was scared silly of the woman; he was missing out on his prom. True, this wasn't exactly like his last one. He was only a sophomore and technically shouldn't have been there if it weren't for Glee club. However, he still wanted to spend time with his friends and he didn't enjoy being the only one left out. Plus, he was kind of interested to see who won Prom Queen. The fighting had grown to quite an epic scale, and he wanted to see the end result.

Kurt was shaking as he paced the hallway, the horrible scene still flashing through his head. He was sick and tired of it. He thought that after he went to Dalton, things would cool off, especially with Karofsky off his back. The smirks and glares from so many people were still etched in his brain though, and he couldn't remember a time when he felt so hated. He half wanted to just run out the doors, drive home, and curl up in bed. The other half of him was determined to march back into that gymnasium and show each and every person up. After internal debating, he decided that he would do just that. He was sick of hiding and running. He was going to enjoy his prom no matter what. He wasn't about to let some small-minded people ruin it.

In hindsight, Artie realized that Coach Sylvester probably wouldn't have been too mad at him if he had just told her it was lemonade. However, he never did well under pressure and he felt like she would have ripped his teeth out no matter what. By the time he made his way back to the gym, he realized that the King and Queen had already been crowned and they were on their last song of the evening. With a sigh, he pushed himself into the crowd in an attempt to find his friends for one last dance.

The next day at school, Artie and Kurt were the first ones in the choir room. By that point, Artie had heard from others what had happened and expressed his disgust at the people who had played the cruel prank. Meanwhile Kurt sympathized with him on his ordeal with Coach Sylvester.

"Now you know how I felt when I had to tell her about the Physical video," he said, leaning back in his chair.

"I have no idea how you did that," Artie agreed, shuddering slightly at the thought. Just then, Mr. Schuester walked into the choir room.

"Hey boys, how was prom last night?" he asked cheerfully, setting his papers down on the piano.

"Horrible," they replied in unison before turning back to their conversation.

* * *

Artie rolled into the library where he was supposed to meet Kurt for a study session. He found the other boy sitting at a table, but instead of having his books out and ready, he was just staring off into space with a thoughtful look on his face. He focused when Artie stopped at the table, and gave him a vacant smile.

"What's up?" Artie asked.

"Just…thinking," Kurt replied vaguely.

"Well the library is a good place to do that," Artie quipped. Kurt gave him a look before sighing deeply and reaching for his books.

"What were you thinking about?" Artie asked him. Kurt paused and slowly straightened.

"You heard about Coach Sylvester's sister, right?"

"Yeah," Artie answered. "Everyone's talking about it. It's kind of hard to believe. I mean, her sister wasn't that old."

"It could have been my dad," Kurt said suddenly. "I can't stop thinking about that. It could have been him earlier this year. I was incredibly lucky that it wasn't, but he was so close."

"It wasn't him though," Artie said softly. "He's fine."

"I know," Kurt said. "But it was scary; especially…well you know what happened with my mom." Artie nodded slowly. "I want to help Coach out. She was pretty supportive when my dad was in the hospital, and quite frankly I know what she's going through."

"That's a good idea," Artie replied. "Let me know if I can do anything.

A couple of days later, Kurt approached Artie while he was switching the books in his locker.

"Remember when you said you wanted to help Coach Sylvester? Well I have a proposition for you," Kurt said. "We're going to be in charge of the service and I had an idea of a tribute we could make for Jean. If I provide you with various videos and pictures, could you make a video of her?"

"Yeah, that'd be no problem at all," Artie agreed. "I'd be happy to do it."

"I also decided the song that we're going to sing," Kurt continued as they started to make their way down the hallway to their next classes. "Jean's favorite movie is 'Willy Wonka,' so I was thinking that _Pure Imagination _would be a good song."

"That's perfect," Artie said. "I love that song."

"Would you like to sing in it?" Kurt asked.

"Why can't you run the club instead of Mr. Schuester?" Artie asked with a wry smile, causing the other boy to laugh in agreement.

* * *

Artie had never been in an airplane before, so he was quite excited when they finally lifted off and headed off towards New York. Once the seatbelt sign had been switched off, the Glee club members were able to switch seats and mingle with each other. At one point, Kurt found himself dropping into the seat next to Artie that had recently been abandoned by Sam.

"Excited?" Artie asked him jokingly.

"You have no idea," Kurt said, wiggling slightly in his seat. "I have been waiting for this moment my entire life."

"So just a little bit excited?" Artie teased. Kurt stuck out his tongue in reply.

"Who would've thought that after everything that happened this year, we would end up here?" Artie mused. Kurt gave him a confused look.

"Don't you remember what happened at the beginning of this year? When we found out about the whole hospital thing? "

"Oh yeah," Kurt said. "I forgot that was only a couple of months ago. So much has happened since then, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, just a little bit," Artie laughed. "But look where we've ended up."

"I don't know," Kurt mused. "I think that we bonded more over dancing around the library in shiny pants than this whole experience."

"Maybe just a little bit," Artie said thoughtfully. "Things like that can create a lasting friendship." The two boys shared a laugh before lapsing into silence.

"Well, if we could make it through all of this, Nationals should be a breeze then," Kurt said after a moment.

"To Nationals!" Artie cheered, raising his plastic airplane cup with soda in it. Kurt raised his own and clinked it with Artie's.

"To Nationals," he echoed. "And everything after it."

The two boys drank, looked at each other, and burst out laughing.

* * *

_I'd like to express my extreme gratitude again to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, and followed this story over the past year. If you've been following since 'Take It All Away,' thank you so much for sticking with me throughout this entire story. I love seeing how many people enjoy the friendship between these two characters. I'm waiting to see what the third season will bring, and if it will inspire any more fic ideas. _

_ Thank you all once again from the bottom of my heart._


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